All Blog Posts Tagged 'monitor' - Home Energy Pros2017-08-18T05:04:24Zhttp://homeenergypros.lbl.gov/profiles/blog/feed?tag=monitor&xn_auth=noWomen in Building Performance: Julie Michalstag:homeenergypros.lbl.gov,2017-08-16:6069565:BlogPost:2207542017-08-16T19:24:33.000ZHome Energy Magazinehttp://homeenergypros.lbl.gov/profile/HomeEnergyMagazine
<h1><a href="http://homeenergy.org/images/blog/1047.jpg" style="font-size: 13px;" target="_blank"><img class="align-left" src="http://homeenergy.org/images/blog/1047.jpg"></img></a></h1>
<div class="fullstory"><div class="blogThumb"><div class="caption">Julie Michals is the Director of Clean Energy Valuation at <a href="https://e4thefuture.org/" target="_blank">E4TheFuture</a>. In this role, her focus is on initiatives that improve approaches to measuring and evaluating clean energy program implementation. Prior to joining E4TheFuture, she spent 14 years with…</div>
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<h1><a href="http://homeenergy.org/images/blog/1047.jpg" target="_blank" style="font-size: 13px;"><img src="http://homeenergy.org/images/blog/1047.jpg" class="align-left"/></a></h1>
<div class="fullstory"><div class="blogThumb"><div class="caption">Julie Michals is the Director of Clean Energy Valuation at <a href="https://e4thefuture.org/" target="_blank">E4TheFuture</a>. In this role, her focus is on initiatives that improve approaches to measuring and evaluating clean energy program implementation. Prior to joining E4TheFuture, she spent 14 years with Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships, most recently as director of the Regional Evaluation, Measurement and Verification Forum. </div>
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<p><strong>Lindsay Bachman Flickinger:</strong> How did you get started in the energy efficiency/home performance industry?</p>
<p><strong>Julie Michals:</strong> My first job out of graduate school (in energy economics) was working for a consulting firm in the electricity field, which coincided with the start of electricity market restructuring (deregulation of electricity generation from vertically integrated utilities). My work focused on the policy construct for integrated resource planning and energy efficiency program funding in a restructured industry, and my work was largely for consumer advocate clients. So, the start of my career didn’t expose me directly to home performance work per se, but rather my learning was concentrated in the broader changing electricity industry and energy efficiency policy arena. </p>
<p><strong>LBF:</strong> How has your career evolved?</p>
<p><strong>JM:</strong> After my consulting gig, I worked for nearly five years at the Massachusetts Division of Energy Resources, where I led/facilitated negotiated settlements on energy efficiency plans between the utilities and the “non-utility parties” stakeholder group. This phase of my career exposed me to a deeper understanding of energy efficiency programs (design, implementation, and evaluation), and involved establishing energy efficiency program goals, performance indicators, and associated shareholder or incentive structures. During this period, I also developed important facilitation skills that were essential in my subsequent jobs. </p>
<p>Next, I went to Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships, one of several regional energy efficiency organizations across the country. My long run at NEEP (14 years) exposed to me to a whole lot of new things. I started as a policy manager, which over time evolved to a director position heading up a multi-state project to develop consistency in energy efficiency evaluation, measurement, and verification (EM&amp;V) practices and reporting of impacts. The exposure to a range of projects, and application of EM&amp;V for energy efficiency to various policies/markets, help me evolve to my current position as Director of Clean Energy Valuation at E4TheFuture. </p>
<p>Over the years, I think I benefited from starting my career consulting in the private sector, then going to public/government sector, and ultimately landing in the non-profit space. My suggestion to anyone entering the energy field is to experience the industry through different lenses—I sometimes regret that I didn’t venture out to the private sector later in my career, purely for the different experience and broadening my perspective.</p>
<p><strong>LBF:</strong> When you started out, what was your biggest obstacle? How did you overcome it?</p>
<p><strong>JM:</strong> Certainly, starting out in any field, I had huge knowledge gaps about the energy and efficiency industry, and learned from colleagues and hands-on projects. Being neither an engineer nor a statistician, nor having knowledge of wholesale forward capacity markets, there was a steep learning curve on these various fronts. But I was fortunate to work with very smart people over the years who helped me learn a lot.</p>
<p><strong>LBF: </strong>What is the most rewarding thing about your job?</p>
<p><strong>JM:</strong> The people. They are compassionate, hard-working, and mission driven.</p>
<p><strong>LBF:</strong> In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges for women in this industry?</p>
<p>I honestly haven’t encountered huge challenges myself as a woman working in the energy efficiency industry, but it may be different at the policy/consulting level versus the home performance space. I’ve benefited from attending the New England Women in Energy and the Environment (NEWIEE) events over the years, which gives recognition to women making a difference in the energy field, and hearing stories of overcoming the ‘glass ceiling.’ It's very inspiring.</p>
<p><strong>LBF:</strong> What advice would you give to a woman starting out in the energy efficiency and home performance industry?</p>
<p><strong>JM:</strong> There are many hats one can wear in this industry. For home performance, the field is hugely evolving with opportunities for companies to expand services beyond energy efficiency, and for funding models that extend beyond the common utility program model (such as growing interest in community energy programs, and services being broadened to demand response and other integrated distributed energy resources). The electricity field is advancing leaps and bounds with grid modernization underway, the use of software as a service tools (cloud computing and advanced data analytics, machine learning) and integrated services, which together is aiming to support greater customer engagement and focus.</p>
<p>The common analogy at conferences these days is ‘think of how we used telephones 25 years ago …. and now look at these smart phone devices today. Who would have thunk?’ The electricity market is about to go through that major evolution—albeit a bit more complex. But it’s a super exciting time to be working in our industry.</p>
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<p><em>This blog originally appeared on <a href="http://homeenergy.org/show/blog/id/1047/nav/blog" target="_blank">www.homeenergy.org</a>.</em></p>
</div>Solar Decathlon CO-LOCATED with National Solar Conference and Community Challenge Workshop!tag:homeenergypros.lbl.gov,2017-08-14:6069565:BlogPost:2209252017-08-14T14:48:10.000ZJill Cliburnhttp://homeenergypros.lbl.gov/profile/JillCliburn
<p>I just saw the blog on the Decathlon-- and I wanted to say But Wait, There's More! On days between the Decathlon weekends, in the same location, you can take in the <a href="http://www.ases.org/conference" target="_blank">2017 National Solar Conference</a>, organized by the American Solar Energy Society. This includes the meeting of the Passive Solar building folks and a special, free one-day workshop, sponsored by the DOE <a href="http://www.solarinyourcommunity.org/" target="_blank">Solar…</a></p>
<p>I just saw the blog on the Decathlon-- and I wanted to say But Wait, There's More! On days between the Decathlon weekends, in the same location, you can take in the <a href="http://www.ases.org/conference" target="_blank">2017 National Solar Conference</a>, organized by the American Solar Energy Society. This includes the meeting of the Passive Solar building folks and a special, free one-day workshop, sponsored by the DOE <a href="http://www.solarinyourcommunity.org/" target="_blank">Solar in Your Community Challenge</a>. That meeting overlaps the interest of many Home Energy Pro followers, who are focused on the low- to moderate income community. The Challenge projects, organized by non-profits, local governments, and others, focus on solar, but as you know (!) the best way to assure savings is to promote energy efficiency and load management as well. A lot of these projects are working with that awareness and they're interested in building partnerships around all sustainability practices. The ASES conference has 1-day as well as full-conference registration options-- So Denver is the place to be in early October--for the Decathlon and more! Check it out!</p>Volunteers needed for the upcoming U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2017 - Denver, Co.tag:homeenergypros.lbl.gov,2017-08-14:6069565:BlogPost:2209192017-08-14T11:36:07.000ZStacy Hunthttp://homeenergypros.lbl.gov/profile/StacyHunt
<p><font face="Calibri" size="3">Please help us spread the word to your colleagues and friends in Denver, Co!</font></p>
<p><font face="Calibri" size="3">The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon is a collegiate competition of 10 contests that challenge student teams to design and build full-size, energy-efficient, solar-powered houses. The winner most successfully blends design excellence, smart energy strategies, innovation, and market potential.…</font></p>
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<p><font face="Calibri" size="3">Please help us spread the word to your colleagues and friends in Denver, Co!</font></p>
<p><font face="Calibri" size="3">The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon is a collegiate competition of 10 contests that challenge student teams to design and build full-size, energy-efficient, solar-powered houses. The winner most successfully blends design excellence, smart energy strategies, innovation, and market potential.</font></p>
<p><font face="Calibri" size="3">Free to visitors, October 5 – 9 and 12 – 15, 2017, at the 61st &amp; Peña station on the University of Colorado A line commuter rail near Denver International Airport, the event features</font> <font face="Calibri" size="3">student teams providing free public tours of their solar powered, energy- and water efficient houses featuring cutting-edge technologies; a</font> <font face="Calibri" size="3">sustainability expo; professional, and consumer and middle school education events.</font></p>
<p><font face="Calibri" size="3">Solar Decathlon is much more than a collegiate competition. It’s an intensive learning opportunity for consumers and homeowners as they experience the latest technologies and materials in energy-efficient design, clean energy technologies, smart home solutions, water conservation measures, electric vehicles, and sustainable buildings. And, in its 2017 location within the new development at the 61st &amp; Peña Station commuter rail stop near Denver International Airport, Solar Decathlon encourages competitors and visitors to think about new ways of combining commercial and residential uses, and mass transit, to create attractive spaces that enable residents to live, work, and play in one place.</font></p>
<p><font face="Calibri" size="3">Volunteers work alongside Solar Decathlon organizers serving as a greeter, docent, visitor liaison, education day mentors and more.</font><font face="Calibri" size="3"> </font></p>
<p><font face="Calibri" size="3">Keep an eye on the</font> <a href="https://www.solardecathlon.gov/"><font color="#0000FF" face="Calibri" size="3">Solar Decathlon website</font></a><font face="Calibri" size="3"> </font> <font face="Calibri" size="3">for updates to the event, and specifically the</font> <a href="http://www.solardecathlon.gov/2017/volunteers.html"><font face="Calibri" size="3">Solar Decathlon Volunteers</font></a> <font face="Calibri" size="3">page for more information about types of volunteer roles and a link to register.</font></p>
<p><font face="Calibri" size="3">Also, we are also looking for interns for the Solar Decathlon Communications and Volunteer Departments. If you know of anyone interested, please have them email</font> <font face="Calibri" size="3">volunteers@confluencec.com</font><font face="Calibri" size="3">.</font></p>
<p><font face="Calibri" size="3">Thank you!</font></p>
<p><font face="Calibri" size="3">Stacy Hunt</font></p>
<p><font face="Calibri" size="3">Stakeholder Manager</font></p>
<p><font face="Calibri" size="3">U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon</font></p>
<p></p>Will ZNE Transform Energy Efficiency?tag:homeenergypros.lbl.gov,2017-08-09:6069565:BlogPost:2206152017-08-09T02:19:03.000ZEfficiency First Californiahttp://homeenergypros.lbl.gov/profile/EfficiencyFirstCalifornia
<div class="content clear-block"><p><a href="http://api.ning.com:80/files/LFXnCADn0X6s3dIvvd6EuqgacVl0knXAmle8NMM2LaCEO--kZ*AIq2fyU6ja0xz5NfBiAC*C6R5srtQXnlw9rV7oKcFLNRI6/ZNEBlog2017_7.png" target="_self"><img class="align-full" src="http://api.ning.com:80/files/LFXnCADn0X6s3dIvvd6EuqgacVl0knXAmle8NMM2LaCEO--kZ*AIq2fyU6ja0xz5NfBiAC*C6R5srtQXnlw9rV7oKcFLNRI6/ZNEBlog2017_7.png" width="610"></img></a></p>
<p>There is a lot of conversation these days about making buildings Zero Net Energy (ZNE). The basic idea is that a ZNE house or building produces as much energy as it uses in a year. Early adopters have been interested in ZNE building for years, but its only recently that…</p>
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<div class="content clear-block"><p><a href="http://api.ning.com:80/files/LFXnCADn0X6s3dIvvd6EuqgacVl0knXAmle8NMM2LaCEO--kZ*AIq2fyU6ja0xz5NfBiAC*C6R5srtQXnlw9rV7oKcFLNRI6/ZNEBlog2017_7.png" target="_self"><img src="http://api.ning.com:80/files/LFXnCADn0X6s3dIvvd6EuqgacVl0knXAmle8NMM2LaCEO--kZ*AIq2fyU6ja0xz5NfBiAC*C6R5srtQXnlw9rV7oKcFLNRI6/ZNEBlog2017_7.png" width="610" class="align-full"/></a></p>
<p>There is a lot of conversation these days about making buildings Zero Net Energy (ZNE). The basic idea is that a ZNE house or building produces as much energy as it uses in a year. Early adopters have been interested in ZNE building for years, but its only recently that technology has gotten to the point where it’s possible to make ZNE a reality at a large scale. The combination of a continued reduction in the cost of solar panels along with advances in energy efficiency technology means that the potential for ZNE is growing by the day.</p>
<p>While many people think that getting to ZNE means stacking a bunch of solar panels on the roof of a building, the truth is that ZNE is usually not possible without adding a large dose of energy efficiency measures. This means that that the recent push to make more buildings ZNE represents a huge opportunity that home performance contractors should pay attention to.</p>
<h2>WHAT COUNTS AS ZNE?</h2>
<p>What counts as ZNE is a matter of some debate. For example, can a ZNE home or building use fossil fuels such as natural gas? To the ZNE purists the answer is no, and the site-produced energy must be from renewable sources. It gets more complicated when you look at the difference between how different agencies define ZNE</p>
<p>For example, the <a href="https://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2015/09/f26/bto_common_definition_zero_energy_buildings_093015.pdf">Department of Energy</a> defines ZNE as an energy-efficient building, campus, portfolio, or community where, on a source energy basis, the actual annual delivered energy is less than or equal to the on-site renewable exported energy.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.energy.ca.gov/">California Energy Commission</a>, however, says that a building only counts as ZNE when the societal value of energy (long-term projected costs of energy including cost of peak demand and other project costs such as the time dependent valuation of energy) consumed by the building over the course of a typical year is less than or equal to the societal value of the on-site renewable energy generated.</p>
<p>If you factor in societal cost of energy, energy produced during peak load has more value than energy produced during off-peak periods. The CEC definition also favors renewables, as they don’t create long-term societal costs in the form of pollution. The challenge of the CECs definition is that you need to know the source of generation and time it was generated. This requires accurate data and real-time measurement.</p>
<p>The DOE approach is much broader. Basically, if you match the value of the energy used with your own production, you are ZNE, regardless of the societal costs. The DOE approach also doesn’t require that the non-source energy be generated from renewables. Overall, this makes the DOE definition much broader and more complicated.</p>
<h2>ZNE MAKES SENSE</h2>
<p>Whatever your exact definition though, ZNE makes sense. Why should we burn fossil fuels or use nuclear power plants that are located miles away from the buildings they are supplying energy to?</p>
<p>For decades, generating electricity at big power plants has been the most cost-effective way to provide power to buildings. The problem is, using big, centralized power plants means you’re delivering energy through transmission lines over long distances and at every step in the process there are energy losses. These losses include combustion inefficiencies at generation (nothing burns 100% clean) and in transmission and delivery, as these power plants are located miles away from the buildings they supply energy to. In the end, the electricity sent to your home or business is only a fraction of what was produced. Natural gas has many of the same challenges, with the added problem of gas leaks.</p>
<p>When you consider that buildings are responsible for 41 percent of carbon emissions in the United States, any effort to reduce losses will have huge benefits. From this point of view, site-produced energy, made where you use it, makes a lot of sense. Fortunately, technology is making site-produced energy a viable solution today.</p>
<p>To get to ZNE, though, focusing on production of energy isn’t enough; you have to look at consumption, too. That’s where energy efficiency comes in.</p>
<p>While the fast track to ZNE might be to cover your roof with solar panels, this solution will only work in certain situations. The majority of the time making buildings ZNE requires applying building science principles and involves a combination of energy efficiency measures and renewable energy generation. In many cases, this is the only chance a building has to even come close to being ZNE.</p>
<p>Building performance becomes even more critical when you address multi-story buildings. A single level home might have enough roof space to meet ZNE targets with solar alone, but what happens when you have five floors under the same roof? In a multi-story home or apartment, the roof simply does not have enough footprint (square footage) to provide the energy needed via solar panels.</p>
<p>There are also many homes and buildings that can’t take advantage of solar due to shading and other considerations. Energy efficiency measures can reduce their loads and help them meet ZNE goals. Even if they are good candidates for solar, energy efficiency is often the lowest cost solution and should be a part of any long-term effort to achieving ZNE.</p>
<p>Another drawback to the “just add more solar panels” approach is the ability of the grid to store energy. The electrical grid is primarily a delivery system. Rough estimates are that the grid has a “storage capacity” of only 10 percent. In the middle of the day in summer, many solar systems send their excess production to the grid and get credit for it through a process known as “net metering”. As we add solar to rooftops, we can easily exceed the storage capacity of the grid, meaning that this clean, renewable energy will be dumped in order to not overload the system. This is already happening in California.</p>
<p>Given these challenges, net metering’s future isn’t certain. There are already states such as Nevada that have limited the ability of solar over production to be fed back into the grid. The underlying point is that just adding a bunch of solar panels to meet ZNE goals is not the right approach. Instead of simply stacking on the PV panels, we need to reduce the loads and only produce what we need.</p>
<p>All of this is great news for the home performance industry.</p>
<p>Many of us have spent years convincing people that making their buildings more efficient is a good idea, and it is. But one of the challenges of selling home performance upgrades and other energy efficiency measures is that the driving factors seldom make economic sense on their own. For years, we have touted the virtues of the <a href="http://www.efficiencyfirstca.org/news/2016/04/27/what-really-sells-energy-efficiency-upgrades">non-energy benefits</a> related to efficiency upgrades to help justify the cost of efficiency measures. Energy efficiency upgrades are a long-term solution and the payback, if any, is years out.</p>
<p>With ZNE, we finally will have the motivation and demand for the knowledge and experience we have been accumulating for years. The trend towards ZNE has the potential to bring market transformation to the energy efficiency sector and could be the driving force we have all been waiting for.</p>
<h2>THE POTENTIAL IS REAL</h2>
<p>You might think this is just another overhyped program or initiative that people say going to change the industry. How many times have we gone down that path?</p>
<p>But the potential for ZNE to transform the energy efficiency industry is real, and it is happening now. California is counting on energy efficiency and ZNE to reduce the state’s carbon footprint. By 2020 all new construction in the state will be required to be ZNE, and by 2025, 50 percent of state-owned buildings will have to be ZNE. By 2030, 50 percent of existing commercial buildings will be ZNE.</p>
<p>A little while ago I asked a home performance contractor where he thought he would be in five years. His answer surprised me: he said he felt he would no longer be doing home performance upgrades. Instead, he suggested that he would be retrofitting existing houses to make them ZNE ready.</p>
<p>His response stuck with me. As time goes on, I think he is on the right path.</p>
<p>It won’t take long until contractors, architects, and consumers realize that adding more solar panels alone will not be the solution--ZNE needs energy efficiency measures to be effective. The real question is: what are you doing to position yourself or your company to take advantage of this opportunity? The ZNE wave is coming. Are you ready to hop on and ride it? Let’s hope so.</p>
<p><strong>Charles Cormany<br/>Executive Director<br/>Efficiency First California</strong></p>
<p><em>This blog originally appeared on</em><span> </span><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.efficiencyfirstca.org/news/2017/04/10/building-clean-energy-future-respect-people-who-will-build-it" target="_blank">www.efficiencyfirstca.org</a><span>. </span></p>
<p>Image from <a href="http://www.istockphoto.com/">iStock</a>.</p>
<p><strong>Resource Links:</strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.cpuc.ca.gov/General.aspx?id=10740">http://www.cpuc.ca.gov/General.aspx?id=10740</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.californiaznehomes.com/">http://www.californiaznehomes.com/</a></p>
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</div>Micro-housing for Veteranstag:homeenergypros.lbl.gov,2017-07-31:6069565:BlogPost:2205522017-07-31T17:00:00.000ZHome Energy Magazinehttp://homeenergypros.lbl.gov/profile/HomeEnergyMagazine
<p>“‘Never leave someone behind.’</p>
<p>That was our pledge in the military and in my time as a police officer. When you retire or move on, that doesn’t go away.”</p>
<p>In 2014, Donnie Davis got a phone call about a local campground in southern New Jersey that was up for sale. A crazy idea popped into his head. It would require a lot of money and hard work, but it had the potential to help countless neighbors and families. Donnie decided to take a leap of faith — and change the lives of his…</p>
<p>“‘Never leave someone behind.’</p>
<p>That was our pledge in the military and in my time as a police officer. When you retire or move on, that doesn’t go away.”</p>
<p>In 2014, Donnie Davis got a phone call about a local campground in southern New Jersey that was up for sale. A crazy idea popped into his head. It would require a lot of money and hard work, but it had the potential to help countless neighbors and families. Donnie decided to take a leap of faith — and change the lives of his fellow veterans.</p>
<p>Donnie was a member of the U.S. Air Force Honor Guard from 1993 to 1997. Among their duties is to provide military funerals for fallen soldiers — an important yet grim responsibility for a day, let alone five years. Following his military service, he spent five years as a police officer in Maryland.</p>
<p>In 2013, Donnie started a church in Franklinville, New Jersey, where he is a pastor. That’s why he got the call about the campground in 2014, but that’s not why he bought it.</p>
<p>Donnie wasn’t looking to build a new worship center. “I don’t believe in building an enormous church with steeples and all that. I’d rather go pay someone’s mortgage.”</p>
<p>Instead, Donnie had another idea for the property. He’d never forgotten the credo “Never leave someone behind.” And yet every day, a veteran commits suicide. The U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs estimates that 11 to 20 percent of soldiers who served in Iraq or Afghanistan have PTSD in a given year. These facts aren’t lost on Donnie.</p>
<p>After the phone call, Donnie and his best friend, a fellow vet and retired police officer, were sitting around Donnie’s dining room table. In the background, the TV show <em>Tiny House Nation</em> was on. Suddenly, it clicked. What if they could build a community of tiny homes for homeless veterans suffering from PTSD — and provide everything for free?</p>
<p>That’s when they launched <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/housing4vets?pc=donniedavis_" target="_blank">their GoFundMe</a>.</p>
<p>A little over a year later, Donnie has raised over $150K for the micro-housing community — now dubbed Operation Safe Haven. Thanks to <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/housing4vets?pc=donniedavis_" target="_blank">the campaign</a>, not only were they able to purchase the 277-acre campground, but they have also built four 300ft² homes—with a fifth currently underway.</p>
<p><img src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1250/1*uItWHshdH2Rw9NJusMnMHw.jpeg" alt="" width="502" height="334"/></p>
<p>Donations helped to hire a registered nurse, who recently moved onsite to live and work with residents full-time. They also purchased two horses that just completed their equine therapy certification. In addition to their work with veterans, Donnie has invited local children with special needs to work with the horses at no cost.</p>
<p>While they prepare for Operation Safe Haven’s first residents, the property hosts a wide variety of community events throughout the week—from kids’ day camps to Sunday picnics by the lake.</p>
<p>“We’re able to provide everything for free,” says Donnie. “Without GoFundMe, we would have to charge people.”</p>
<p>Every week, dozens of volunteers and over 30 veterans work together to prepare the property for its first residents and provide them the perfect environment for healing. Donnie and his family have also moved on the property to focus their time and efforts on the project.</p>
<p>“The idea is to help homeless veterans get back on their feet and contribute to society again,” says Donnie. “There’s no overhead, so all donations to <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/housing4vets?pc=donniedavis_" target="_blank">the campaign</a> go straight to the project.”</p>
<p>Donnie is currently in the process of vetting potential residents with the goal of moving in their first veterans this summer. In addition to onsite healthcare and counseling, every resident will receive a therapy dog and have access to beautiful nature and an understanding community.</p>
<p>In return, residents will help take care of the property, its animals, and its organic gardens. Harvested food will go toward their own meals as well as to families in the community.</p>
<p>“We have solar panels all over the property and composting toilets,” says Donnie. “It’s all eco-friendly and sustainable, and there’s no carbon footprint.”</p>
<p>Through this year-long process of planning, building, and organizing, Donnie experienced his own transformation.</p>
<p>“Helping others has been my own therapy. My PTSD came from serving in the police department. Up until a year ago, I couldn’t even say what I struggled with out loud. I never realized how much I needed this, too.”</p>
<p>Recently, we asked Donnie what the most surprising moment part of this journey has been: “The community. It’s easy to fall into the trap of he-said, she-said and pick sides in our country right now. It’s easy to stereotype and profile. But what’s neat is that we unintentionally found common ground.</p>
<p>“People from all across the country have come together to support this. The calls and donations we get are unbelievable. After seeing our campaign, several companies even donated services and goods. Every morning is Christmas morning.”</p>
<p><img src="https://2dbdd5116ffa30a49aa8-c03f075f8191fb4e60e74b907071aee8.ssl.cf1.rackcdn.com/11273139_1478540737.9758.jpg" alt="" width="485" height="323"/></p>
<p>Donnie also has some advice for people who start a campaign: “Have a passion for what you’re doing. There are days that donations come in, and there are days that they don’t. But if you have that passion and really believe in what you’re doing, nothing can stop you.</p>
<p>“My goal is for other people to duplicate what we’re doing here and have the same type of faith. If you believe in something, make the change. What’s the worst that can happen — you pick up and go home? You’ve got to pay it forward. You’ve got to try.”</p>
<p><a href="https://www.gofundme.com/housing4vets?pc=donniedavis_" target="_blank">Learn more about Operation Safe Haven.</a></p>
<p>You can also view a video of the project <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibUoQesTy7s&amp;feature=youtu.be" target="_blank">here</a>. </p>A Closer Look at Connecticut's Zero Energy Homebuilding Competitiontag:homeenergypros.lbl.gov,2017-07-27:6069565:BlogPost:2205502017-07-27T17:06:15.000ZHome Energy Magazinehttp://homeenergypros.lbl.gov/profile/HomeEnergyMagazine
<p><a href="http://homeenergy.org/images/blog/1035.jpg" target="_blank"><img class="align-left" src="http://homeenergy.org/images/blog/1035.jpg"></img></a> At the Better Buildings By Design conference, <a href="http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/articles/dept/musings/zero-energy-construction-set-explode" target="_blank">Ann Edminster</a> spoke about the growing interest in net-zero-energy buildings saying, “This [net-zero-energy construction] is a market opportunity. This field is going to explode.”</p>
<p>Edminster was right. According to the Net-Zero Energy…</p>
<p><a href="http://homeenergy.org/images/blog/1035.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://homeenergy.org/images/blog/1035.jpg" class="align-left"/></a>At the Better Buildings By Design conference, <a href="http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/articles/dept/musings/zero-energy-construction-set-explode" target="_blank">Ann Edminster</a> spoke about the growing interest in net-zero-energy buildings saying, “This [net-zero-energy construction] is a market opportunity. This field is going to explode.”</p>
<p>Edminster was right. According to the Net-Zero Energy Coalition’s <a href="https://netzeroenergycoalition.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/2017-06-14_NetZeroEnergy17001_zero-energy-homes-booklet_a01_fnl_screen-1.pdf" target="_blank">2016 Zero Energy Residential Building Study</a>, there was a 33 percent increase across the United States and Canada in zero-energy single and multi-family housing from 2015 to 2016.</p>
<p>Many skeptics believe that this is a niche market for custom home builders. However, <a href="http://www.energizect.com/" target="_blank">Energize Connecticut</a>’s Zero Energy Challenge, along with Net-Zero Energy Coalition’s study, proves that while net-zero-energy residential construction may be in its infancy, it will and is revolutionizing the homebuilding industry.</p>
<p>In 2007, Connecticut’s General Assembly enacted progressive energy efficiency statutes that included modifying its commercial and residential building codes. Eversource and the United Illuminating Company realized an opportunity to further the state’s energy efficiency goals by investing in residential new construction initiatives, and, in 2009, the companies established the CT <a href="http://www.ctzeroenergychallenge.com/" target="_blank">Zero Energy Challenge</a> (ZEC), a design and build competition for single and multi-family homes.</p>
<p>ZEC is the only competition of its kind nationwide. Unlike other net-zero competitions where students design buildings and homes, ZEC participants are fully-involved in the entire process. Homeowners, builders, architects, designers, HERS raters and contractors work closely together to design and build a home that is suitable for a homeowner’s budget and lifestyle – and most importantly, achieves the net-zero-energy home classification.</p>
<p>The ZEC homes serve as examples to all homeowners that building super high efficiency (near zero energy) homes is achievable, and showcases energy-efficient methods that can be used in older homes or remodels. 2016 winners, Steve and Janis Moser and the Passive Lodge at Silver Lake are two testaments of that. Through their research, attention to detail and commitment to an integrated design process, the amateur builders constructed award-winning dwellings.</p>
<p>ZEC also exemplifies how new technology and advancements in building practices affect a home’s energy performance. Through the Challenge, a home’s Home Energy Rating System (HERS) index, cost effectiveness, and demonstrated thermal envelope efficiency are evaluated to identify which homes are the most efficient. In 2010, the Overall Winner, <a href="https://www.ctzeroenergychallenge.com/participant_overview.php?ID=ces" target="_blank">Keithan Residence</a>, achieved a HERS rating of -7. With advancements in ENERGY STAR® appliances, renewable energy technology and building practices, the <a href="https://www.ctzeroenergychallenge.com/participant_overview.php?ID=Moser" target="_blank">Moser Residence</a>, recipient of this year’s Overall Lowest HERS rating, achieved a -14. This is proof that these homes are more affordable, comfortable and energy efficient than a new code-built home that has a HERS rating of 100.</p>
<p>In addition to home performance, building techniques and technologies, the Zero Energy Challenge, along with Connecticut’s energy efficiency job market, saw a significant increase in participation and new hires. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the design, installation and manufacturing of energy efficiency products and services in Connecticut account for nearly 34,000 jobs. For ZEC specifically, the number of builders constructing zero-energy homes exclusively has grown. In its first year, the Challenge had two builders. Last year, the program had a record number of entries – a total of 17, including multi-use properties and farmsteads, from 14 builders.</p>
<p>From installing basement root cellars and fireplaces to solar shingles and Energy Recovery Ventilation (ERV) systems, the ZEC builders continue to push the boundaries of energy-efficiency homebuilding, and prove that these homes are affordable and can compete in the general housing market.</p>
<p>In the next two articles, we’ll take a closer look at the 2016 Energize Connecticut Zero Energy Challenge winners and their accomplishments.</p>Federal Energy Efficiency on the chopping block!tag:homeenergypros.lbl.gov,2017-07-27:6069565:BlogPost:2202302017-07-27T16:03:13.000ZWill johnsonhttp://homeenergypros.lbl.gov/profile/Willjohnson
<p><span>Up to 40% cuts on the table to EnergyStar and more. Visit<span> </span></span><a class="js-link post-link" href="https://www.linkedin.com/redir/redirect?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Ease%2Eorg%2FPlease&amp;urlhash=7enf&amp;_t=tracking_anet" target="_blank">http://www.ase.org/Please</a><span><span> </span>take action.…</span></p>
<p><span>Up to 40% cuts on the table to EnergyStar and more. Visit<span> </span></span><a class="js-link post-link" href="https://www.linkedin.com/redir/redirect?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Ease%2Eorg%2FPlease&amp;urlhash=7enf&amp;_t=tracking_anet" target="_blank">http://www.ase.org/Please</a><span><span> </span>take action.</span><a class="js-link post-link" href="https://www.linkedin.com/redir/redirect?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Ease%2Eorg%2Finvolved%2Ftakeaction&amp;urlhash=cCb9&amp;_t=tracking_anet" target="_blank">http://www.ase.org/involved/takeaction</a><br/><br/><span>Only takes a minute to complete these forms to foster programs that combat climate change, cost effective and more.<span> </span></span></p>
<p></p>
<p><span><span>Please take these 5 minutes to let your representatives know and take a stand to support these important initiatives. </span></span></p>It’s Time to Stop Using Fire in Our Homestag:homeenergypros.lbl.gov,2017-07-19:6069565:BlogPost:2201612017-07-19T01:39:20.000ZEfficiency First Californiahttp://homeenergypros.lbl.gov/profile/EfficiencyFirstCalifornia
<p><a href="http://api.ning.com:80/files/osVUbiELUl6CyZGVUTlyR83HcYMmkDxnfKDWwhJA3jH1wpR80ofaGXsxV1NmgpcoYOL3kqhtLB4OeBnKptpCnzcvYHcGYcFz/1.png" target="_self"><img class="align-full" src="http://api.ning.com:80/files/osVUbiELUl6CyZGVUTlyR83HcYMmkDxnfKDWwhJA3jH1wpR80ofaGXsxV1NmgpcoYOL3kqhtLB4OeBnKptpCnzcvYHcGYcFz/1.png" width="610"></img></a></p>
<p>At some point in time man gained control over fire. Fire was very useful: it could be used to cook food, provide light, and its heat allowed us to survive in hostile environments.</p>
<p>Thousands of years later, some things haven’t changed much. Whether we have a natural gas or propane furnace or (in some parts of…</p>
<p><a href="http://api.ning.com:80/files/osVUbiELUl6CyZGVUTlyR83HcYMmkDxnfKDWwhJA3jH1wpR80ofaGXsxV1NmgpcoYOL3kqhtLB4OeBnKptpCnzcvYHcGYcFz/1.png" target="_self"><img src="http://api.ning.com:80/files/osVUbiELUl6CyZGVUTlyR83HcYMmkDxnfKDWwhJA3jH1wpR80ofaGXsxV1NmgpcoYOL3kqhtLB4OeBnKptpCnzcvYHcGYcFz/1.png" width="610" class="align-full"/></a></p>
<p>At some point in time man gained control over fire. Fire was very useful: it could be used to cook food, provide light, and its heat allowed us to survive in hostile environments.</p>
<p>Thousands of years later, some things haven’t changed much. Whether we have a natural gas or propane furnace or (in some parts of the country) an oil fired boiler, most of us still rely on fire in some form to heat our homes and our water. Many of us use open flames for cooking as well: the gas cooktop is a favorite of many culinary experts.</p>
<p>However, we’ve come to a point in history when using fire in our homes is no longer always the most cost-effective, sustainable, or safe option. While we should do everything we can to make fire-burning homes safer and more efficient, we should remember that there are costs to doing so—costs that we could eliminate entirely by getting rid of “fire” from our homes altogether.</p>
<h2>TECHNOLOGY FOR HEATING HOMES</h2>
<p>The technology for heating homes and water with fire is pretty basic. In a forced-air system, you burn natural gas or propane in a furnace to heat a metal box. Air is then circulated around the hot box; once the air is warm, it’s forced into the house by a fan. If your house uses radiators, a boiler uses fire to heat water, which is then circulated by pumps to heat your home.</p>
<p>For heating water, the process exactly the same as making hot water for a cup of tea or coffee. Fire warms up a tank full of cold water. You open the tap and the water flows into your house to provide your nice warm shower. Tankless water heaters work the same way, they just have a big enough flame that they can heat the water on the fly as it goes through the pipes. That’s how we provide those endless showers your teenagers are so fond of.</p>
<p>All of this is fine, as long as the fire stays where it should be and the smoke leaves the house safely. Modern gas appliances have come along way in this regard. These devices operate automatically, and as a result, the manufacturers have installed several safety features to protect consumers. In a water heater, a small pilot light burns and heats a device called a thermocouple. If the thermocouple is not hot (if the pilot is blown out) the main gas valve won’t open. This prevents large amounts of unburned fuel from spilling out of the device and creating a potentially explosive situation. Furnaces and boilers have similar safety circuits and more, to ensure the device will not fill your home with unburnt gas while you’re sleeping or away. Making sure the “fire” stays where it should and only operates as intended is a key safety feature of these devices.</p>
<p>The other side of safety is what happens to the fuel after you burn it. We all know that when you burn something, you get smoke. Combustion devices (those that rely on fire) produce smoke as well. Even though today’s appliances are very good at burning most of their fuel, physics dictates that they will never be 100 percent efficient and that there will always byproducts of combustion. Most of these byproducts are not visible to the human eye. These toxic byproducts must be expelled or vented from the home.</p>
<p>Another requirement for fire to burn is oxygen. We all know what happens when you put a cup over a candle--the lack of oxygen snuffs out the fire. This means combustion devices in your home need both a place to expel the burnt fuel and a place to draw oxygen from. For the most part, people give little thought to this process. The appliance is installed, fired up, and it provides service for many years, often decades.</p>
<h2>WHAT HAPPENS TO COMBUSTION DEVICES WITH AN EFFICIENT HOME?</h2>
<p>All is well until a home performance contractor comes along and changes things.</p>
<p>If you’re trying to make a home as efficient as possible, obviously sealing up all the holes to the outside is a great place to start. This has been a basic premise of energy efficiency upgrades for years. We now have devices to quantify how tight or leaky your home is (e.g., the blower door). This means we can do a really good job of sealing all the holes. The problem is, what happens to the combustion devices as we make homes tighter and tighter to save energy?</p>
<p>Think of your house as a box with a bunch of holes in one side. Your combustion device uses air from inside the box for combustion and expels the combustion byproducts via a vent (flue or chimney) through the roof. New air for combustion is drawn in through the holes.</p>
<p>Now consider what happens if we seal up all the holes and make the box more airtight. Now the combustion device may not have enough oxygen to burn properly, which can create deadly byproducts, the most serious being carbon monoxide. Now let’s add a big fan to the box and suck air out of it. (There are several devices in your home that do this: a dryer, a range hood, bathroom fans, and your furnace, potentially). If the fan is too strong, the combustion byproducts don’t flow up the chimney and out of the home. Instead they are “back drafted”, or sucked back into the home, where you get to breathe them.</p>
<h2>CAZ (COMBUSTION AREA ZONE) TESTING</h2>
<p>So how do we make sure we are not causing unintended consequences by sealing up all the holes? Enter combustion safety testing, often known as CAZ (combustion area zone) testing.</p>
<p>CAZ testing is an important part of any home performance job where combustion appliances are used. The basic process is to identify where the devices are, how they interact with the conditioned (occupied) space, and to insure the devices are working as intended. CAZ testing requires a highly trained technician using very precise (expensive) equipment to determine pressure changes within the home. CAZ testing makes sure the fans are not sucking all the air out of the house and pulling the flue gasses back in. It will also identify other hazards such as gas leaks and potentially carbon monoxide. In general CAZ testing is a good idea and should be performed any time we make changes to the “envelope” or box of a home. This includes changing out windows, adding new fans, replacing furnaces, adding insulation, and so on. In most cases today, CAZ testing only happens when home performance contractors are part of the process and are making changes to the building envelope.</p>
<p>As you might imagine, CAZ testing is expensive. For most houses it takes about an hour to do all of the testing. The equipment is super sensitive and needs to be frequently calibrated, and you need a well-trained technician to operate it. This all costs money.</p>
<p>Many rebate programs require CAZ testing before rebates can be disbursed. This is a good idea, as the goal is always health and safety first. But as you might imagine, CAZ testing, and verification that it has been done correctly, add significant costs to any rebate program. There are many things you can simplify in a rebate program to reduce cost, but reducing or getting rid of CAZ testing is not one of them. This means we spend millions of dollars sending highly trained individuals into homes to verify that contractors have performed CAZ tests and that their numbers are correct. As I said, this is a good idea, as many CAZ issues cannot be seen and must be a measured.</p>
<h2>IS CAZ WORTH THE EFFORT?</h2>
<p>Even with all the time and money spent there are still some problems with CAZ testing that have not received a great deal of attention. First off, CAZ testing is very technical. There are many variables to consider when testing pressure balances in homes. Simple things like how windy it is outside or the outdoor temperature can have drastic effects on your results. There are other variables, such as the assumptions the manufacturer made when making the testing devices and the sensors themselves. This level of complexity makes repeatability a real concern in CAZ testing and verification.</p>
<p>In fact, it’s not uncommon to have different results on different days in the same house. I witnessed this first hand when I attended a combustions safety training several years ago. The training facility rented a vacant house to teach a real-world class on CAZ testing. There were two classes the same day. In the morning class the water heater failed it’s CAZ test. The draft test indicated combustion byproducts were not being drawn up the vent (flue) and spent gasses were “spilling” back into the house. Later in the day, the second class when through the exact same testing process in the same house and it passed with flying colors. Factor in the different types of measurement devices and you can see that we’re putting a lot of faith into a process with many variables. To make things worse, the utilities use a different standard than home performance contractors (NGAT vs. BPI). This means a home performance contractor might fail a job, requiring them to call to the gas provider. Then the utility sends out one of their technicians to confirm the issues, and the house passes, because they’re using a different set of standards. All of this is expensive, and the cost is eventually passed on to the consumer.</p>
<p>There are solutions. Newer gas appliances can be rated as “sealed combustion”. This means the air for combustion and the flue gas are completely sealed, so all of the combustion air and venting is outside the house. With sealed combustion, pressure changes to the “box” or building envelope do not affect the combustion process. Naturally these devices are more expensive and require additional labor to install, so not all new appliances being sold are sealed combustion. Worse yet, it’s possible to install a sealed combustion appliance and not take full advantage of the sealed combustion chamber. Many furnace installers install sealed combustion furnaces, due to their higher efficiency, but only run the vent pipe to the outside as it is cheaper and easier. This means pressure differences in the home can still affect the combustion process, as the combustion air is still being pulled from inside the house.</p>
<h2>THE PATH TOWARDS ALL-ELECTRIC HOMES</h2>
<p>Ultimately, the real solution is to eliminate combustion from our homes completely. There is no need to have open flame (fire) for space heating or making hot water. There are a number alternative solutions, one of the most prominent being heat pumps. Heat pumps can do the job of space heating or making hot water by moving heat from one place to another using refrigerants and electricity in place of combustion. This is not some newfangled miracle technology--in fact, it has been in use since the late 1800s. Heat pumps are everywhere: cars, homes, offices, stores. Some common examples are your refrigerator, your air conditioning system, and the air conditioning unit your car. The elimination of combustion appliances makes all-electric homes inherently safer than homes using fire (combustion) appliances.</p>
<p>There are many reasons to adopt heat pumps and all-electric homes as the path to the future. We should recognize that combustion appliances in our homes are fueled by natural gas, propane, or fuel oil, all of which are derived from fossil fuels. Electricity is often produced from fossil fuels as well, but it can be produced from a variety of carbon neutral sources, including wind, solar, geothermal, and more. This means that a switch to an all-electric future is a significant first step to reducing our reliance on fossil fuels. The home of tomorrow will likely be all electric, with a mix of heat pumps, solar panels, and storage. The storage could be in the form of batteries, or by using water heaters to store excess solar production. All of these technologies exist today. None of this is rocket science nor does it require some new miracle materials science revolution.</p>
<p>When we think about the costs of switching to an all-electric future, we need to make sure we remember that the current way of doing things has costs too. The combustion safety issues and required costs of CAZ testing is a big one that’s often overlooked. We’re spending millions of dollars today to ensure that homes are safe and that CAZ safety issues are not a factor once energy retrofits are completed. CAZ testing often produces inconsistent results and is difficult to repeat. This means we are putting a tremendous amount of time and money into CAZ testing to protect consumers, with questionable results.</p>
<p>On the other hand, if we were to remove the combustion appliances altogether, there would be no need for CAZ testing, and all of the cost and confusion over the results would simply go away. Homeowners would be safer, utilities would save money by not requiring combustion safety testing, and the planet would benefit from switching away from fossil fuels as our primary fuel. It’s time to embrace the future and stop relying on “fire” as the go to energy solution in our homes.</p>
<p><strong>Charles Cormany<br/>Executive Director<br/>Efficiency First California</strong></p>
<p><em>This blog originally appeared on</em><span> </span><a href="http://www.efficiencyfirstca.org/news/2017/04/10/building-clean-energy-future-respect-people-who-will-build-it" target="_blank">www.efficiencyfirstca.org</a><span>. </span></p>
<p>Image from <a href="http://www.istockphoto.com/">iStock</a>.</p>
<p></p>Energy loss through fireplacetag:homeenergypros.lbl.gov,2017-07-13:6069565:BlogPost:2201342017-07-13T22:41:55.000ZBeverly Lerchhttp://homeenergypros.lbl.gov/profile/BeverlyLerch
<p>There are a lot of different kinds of fireplaces out there. We all know the old wood burning type, but the newer gas fireplaces are more convenient and cleaner burning. </p>
<p>I have customers that are complaining about the cold air coming in from the gas fireplace. I have done a lot of research for my business, with some confusing information about the construction of gas fireplaces. There seems to be a trend of venting the gas fireplace, directly outside, behind the fireplace. I have…</p>
<p>There are a lot of different kinds of fireplaces out there. We all know the old wood burning type, but the newer gas fireplaces are more convenient and cleaner burning. </p>
<p>I have customers that are complaining about the cold air coming in from the gas fireplace. I have done a lot of research for my business, with some confusing information about the construction of gas fireplaces. There seems to be a trend of venting the gas fireplace, directly outside, behind the fireplace. I have received pictures from customers, showing the opening to the outside, visible from inside. I understand the need for venting gas fireplaces, but the opening to the outside is letting in a lot of cold air, as well as allowing the heat and air conditioning to escape up through this vent. These open vents are also allowing bugs to enter the fireplace and eventually the living space.</p>
<p>Does anyone have information to explain why, in our "energy saving" trials, they can install a fireplaces and leave a "hole" in the home, that cannot be closed off?</p>
<p>I originally made fireplace covers for wood burning fireplaces, as I have had in the past. The dampers get warped and/or broken and are very costly to repair, if it can be repaired. I did not, at that time, know about the openings left on a gas fireplace. </p>
<p>Any information is appreciated about this problem.</p>
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<p> </p>Good Intentions, Poor Resultstag:homeenergypros.lbl.gov,2017-07-12:6069565:BlogPost:2193132017-07-12T16:30:00.000ZHome Energy Magazinehttp://homeenergypros.lbl.gov/profile/HomeEnergyMagazine
<p><a href="http://homeenergy.org/images/blog/1014.jpg" target="_blank"><img class="align-left" src="http://homeenergy.org/images/blog/1014.jpg"></img></a> The energy efficiency industry in California is tangled with regulation.</p>
<p>Without a doubt, there are many policies that have been successful. California’s strict building codes have reduced energy use per capita and are responsible for eliminating the need to build 15-20 new power plants over the last 30 years. This is a great result and job well done.</p>
<p>But there are also plenty of cases where…</p>
<p><a href="http://homeenergy.org/images/blog/1014.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://homeenergy.org/images/blog/1014.jpg" class="align-left"/></a>The energy efficiency industry in California is tangled with regulation.</p>
<p>Without a doubt, there are many policies that have been successful. California’s strict building codes have reduced energy use per capita and are responsible for eliminating the need to build 15-20 new power plants over the last 30 years. This is a great result and job well done.</p>
<p>But there are also plenty of cases where regulations that aren’t enforced actually end up penalizing those who play by the rules. It’s time to rethink our approach so we can level the playing field and get the good results we all agree are needed.</p>
<p>Contractors are subject to many rules and regulations. The most obvious are building standards known as “codes”. The purpose of building codes is to protect public health and safety related to the construction and occupancy of buildings. In California, there are two governing bodies responsible for creating and enforcing building codes and standards. The <a href="http://www.cpuc.ca.gov/" target="_blank">California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC)</a> is where regulations start, and the <a href="http://www.energy.ca.gov/" target="_blank">California Energy Commission (CEC)</a> is responsible for enforcement.</p>
<p>For the most part, building codes work well for new construction: if what you built doesn’t meet “the code” it won’t pass final inspection.</p>
<h3>Carrots and the Sticks</h3>
<p>Regulating improvements on existing buildings is more challenging. In existing buildings, there are basically two ways to achieve the desired outcome. The first option is a “carrots”, this means you provide some incentive for good behavior. The second option is using “sticks”, or penalties to achieve the desired outcome. (If you have ever raised a dog you likely recognize the terminology. Giving a dog a bone when they do what you ask is a form of “carrots”. When the dog is out-of-line and you swat it on the bum with a rolled up newspaper or stick you are using a “sticks” approach). Both methods can be effective and have their place in encouraging behavior.</p>
<p>Most would agree that the CEC would prefer to use a “carrots” approach to encourage compliance with codes and other regulations. After all, who wants to be the bad guy all the time? Incentives are intended to shape the desired outcome of a situation and are a form of a “carrots” approach. The incentive can come in many forms, including discounts or cash rewards.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, due to human behavior, the CEC sometimes has to resort to a “sticks” approach in order to be effective. When an individual or company does not follow regulations you can impose financial burdens (fines), or perhaps restrict how they can operate in the future (revoke their license). But unless the rules are enforced, your “stick” is useless.</p>
<h3>Provide Resources or Change Regulation</h3>
<p>What do you do when everyone ignores the regulation and continues to do as they please? Either you provide the resources to enforce the regulation or you change the regulation to fit the situation. Raising speed limits is an example of how regulations were adjusted to fit the situation. For a long time the national speed limit was 55 miles per hour. This was a response to the oil embargo of the 1970s, and was intended to save fuel. The problem was that in states with a lot of wide open spaces, drivers simply ignored the speed limit and drove at 70 mph or more. The regulators then had a choice to make. They could pay for a large police presence and give everyone in these areas a ticket, or they could review the regulation and adjust it to better suit the situation. Today many states have speed limits of 70 mph or higher, as the cost to enforce lower limits was out of proportion to the intent of the regulation.</p>
<p>In California, there are multitudes of regulations imposed each year that in practice have little or no effect due to lack of enforcement. An example is residential heating and cooling system replacements and duct testing requirements.</p>
<h3>The Problem is Substantial </h3>
<p>Current building code requires that upon replacement of a heating ventilation and cooling (HVAC) system, the ducts must be checked and verified by an independent third party. The concept is to insure that the delivery system is working properly and that the ducts are not leaking expensive conditioned air outside the building. In the 2016 code, new duct systems are required to be sealed to less than 5% of the total system output. This is a good policy, as the average duct system in California leaks 30% to 50% outside the building. This means 30% to 50% of the heating or cooling consumers are paying for goes to waste.</p>
<p>The regulation is enforced via the permitting process. When you obtain or “pull” a permit for HVAC, a series of compliance forms are automatically generated. These forms must be filled out by a certified independent third party called a <a href="http://www.energy.ca.gov/HERS/" target="_blank">HERS rater</a> before you call for inspection. When the installation is complete, the HERS rater tests the ducts and confirms that they meet the requirement. If they fail, the contractor must fix them until they pass. Once they pass, the HERS rater submits their forms to the state and the permit can be approved or “closed”. It sounds like a well thought out and effective process. In reality, there are several challenges with this approach.</p>
<p>First off is cost. Third party verification adds expense, in the form of money and time. Paying the HERS rater takes money and scheduling inspections takes time. This makes conforming to the regulation a financial and scheduling burden. A contractor that includes the cost of permits and HERS testing in their pricing will be more expensive than one who doesn’t. Complying with the regulations (the law) can add significant cost to the proposal. How much? Let’s use some rough numbers and say the cost of the permit is $150 (the actual cost varies depending on the local building department). Add $150 for the permit and roughly $350 for the HERS rater we have $500. When you factor in some time for the contractor’s staff to fill out and process all of the required documentation and sit for inspections, the actual cost can easily reach $750 to $1,000 per job. Adding a $1,000 burden to a $10,000 job is significant. Many HVAC contractors are avoiding these expenses by not pulling a permit, which means the system is effectively penalizing contractors who play by the rules and rewarding those who don’t.</p>
<p>How big is this problem? Huge. Studies have shown that before HERS compliance and duct testing was required in California, roughly 80% to 85% of HVAC jobs included a permit.</p>
<p>Currently, fewer than 8% do. In other words, a permit process that was intended to serve as a consumer protection is simply being ignored.</p>
<h3>Permits are the Law</h3>
<p>Consumers are being misled by HVAC contractors, who often give the impression that permits are optional. This simply is not true. Permits are required for residential HVAC change-outs: not pulling one is against the law. When consumers compare bids, the legitimate contractor will always be more expensive, as they have to cover the cost of the permitting and verification process. Homeowners seldom recognize the value of the permit, and often make their choices on the bottom line alone. This means law-abiding contractors are losing work every day to those who choose to skirt the system.</p>
<p>The worst part is that the CPUC knows this, the CEC knows this, local building departments know this, and yet little is being done to change the situation. Local building departments are aware of the issue but are resource challenged. The CEC is aware of the problem but is faced with difficult choices. Do they use “carrots” or “sticks” to solve the problem? One solution that has been proposed would be a registry where equipment model numbers are tracked to ensure a permit has been pulled. Many contractors are in favor of this approach, as it would level the playing field, but it’s not a popular solution for manufacturers and distributors who would have an added burden of tracking their inventory.</p>
<p>None of this would be a problem though, if building departments were being compensated to enforce the regulation. With proper funding, they could hire the required staff to ensure that permits were being used, and that duct testing was being performed.</p>
<h3>Regulation Without Enforcement is a Waste</h3>
<p>This example makes one thing crystal clear. Regulation without enforcement is a waste of time and money, and may actually have the opposite effect from what was intended.</p>
<p>As we move forward to a clean energy future, our policy makers are working on all kinds of new regulations. In each case, the question we need to ask is: does this new regulation have a built-in mechanism to include enforcement? All regulation and policy discussions have cost considerations as part of the discussion. We need to be diligent and insist that new regulations also include funding for enforcement as part of their cost. Moving forward, we should also review existing regulations and get rid of outdated, ineffective policies.</p>
<p>Properly designed and enforced regulations can be very effective at achieving desired outcomes. The problem is when lawmakers simply stack on more and more regulation without considering all of the potential costs. Until regulations include the cost of enforcement, adding new regulations will likely not achieve the intended result.</p>
<p>We should strive to not create another situation like we are seeing in the residential HVAC industry. Consumers need to be educated as to why permits exist, and what they are risking by avoiding the process. It’s time to enforce HVAC duct testing and penalize contractors who don't pull permits. Let’s encourage policymakers to propose smart regulations that help shape and strengthen the industry, instead of clinging to outdated regulations that stymie growth. And most of all, let’s make sure there is funding to support enforcement.</p>
<p>We need regulation. What we don't need is rules that no one follows because they’re not enforced. It’s time to level the playing field, and enforcing regulation is a good place to start.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Charles Cormany</strong><em> is the Executive Director of Efficiency First California.</em></p>
<p><a href="http://www.efficiencyfirstca.org/news/category/Charles%20Cormany" target="_blank">Read Charley's other blog posts &gt;&gt;</a></p>
<p>Image from <a href="http://www.istockphoto.com/" target="_blank">iStock</a>.</p>
<p><em>This blog originally appeared on</em> <a href="http://www.efficiencyfirstca.org/news/2017/04/10/building-clean-energy-future-respect-people-who-will-build-it" target="_blank">www.efficiencyfirstca.org</a>. </p>Angry Air!tag:homeenergypros.lbl.gov,2017-07-07:6069565:BlogPost:2196212017-07-07T19:48:08.000ZPaul Raymerhttp://homeenergypros.lbl.gov/profile/PaulRaymer
<p>John Tooley said, “Air is like crooked rivers, crooked people, teenagers, and cheap labor. It always seeks the path of least resistance.” He didn’t say that Angry air is Noisy air. Air doesn’t like being forced through corrugated, flexible ducting, pushed around corners, and made to force open dampers. It resists being made to perform in a way that it doesn’t want to. It takes more and more force as the resistance increases. Air is just fine when you just let it move at will. It can…</p>
<p>John Tooley said, “Air is like crooked rivers, crooked people, teenagers, and cheap labor. It always seeks the path of least resistance.” He didn’t say that Angry air is Noisy air. Air doesn’t like being forced through corrugated, flexible ducting, pushed around corners, and made to force open dampers. It resists being made to perform in a way that it doesn’t want to. It takes more and more force as the resistance increases. Air is just fine when you just let it move at will. It can become amazingly strong as any building that has met a hurricane or tornado can attest to. And as objects like asteroids and space capsules hurtle through the atmosphere they burn up!</p>
<p>ASHRAE 62.2 requires bathroom fans to make no more noise than a quiet refrigerator in a quiet kitchen: 1 sone or less. And if you put an Energy Star bathroom fan on the bench and plug it in, you can barely hear it. It’s amazingly quiet. “Is it running?” people ask. And it is. So how come once you install the fan in the ceiling it gets uncomfortably loud?</p>
<p>Fan manufacturers not only made these fans quiet, they put DC motors in them that are extremely tolerant of<a href="https://resvent.wordpress.com/2017/06/07/angry-air/screen-shot-2017-06-07-at-6-27-02-am/" rel="attachment wp-att-636" class="single-image-gallery"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-636" src="https://resvent.files.wordpress.com/2017/06/screen-shot-2017-06-07-at-6-27-02-am.png?w=300&amp;h=240" alt="" width="300" height="240"/></a>changes in pressure. As the pressure increases in the installation, the fan motor compensates by using more power to increase the speed of the spinning wheel that is pushing the air. (Notice the curve on this graph that starts on on the left side and then drops off the cliff at about 75 cfm. It has about the same airflow from 0.45 iwg as it does at 0.0 iwg!) That’s a wonderful thing because people can install the fans horribly and step on the duct and lots of other nasty things and still come out with the same airflow . . . but not the same sound level. What was really, really quiet is now uncomfortably loud. And as houses get tighter they get quieter and a noisy fan is annoying which is why so much effort was made to get them quiet so they could run all the time without bothering anyone!</p>
<p>I have found that builders get aggravated because these quiet and expensive fans that they have been compelled to install really aren’t all that quiet. And they should be quiet. They have been designed to be quiet. Tested to be quiet. And if you disconnect them from the installation, they are quiet.</p>
<p>So here’s a simple way to determine if the fan is working right: listen to it. If the air is angry, it will be noisy and noisy DC fans equal bad installation. The air is yelling at you. I have found ducts filled with the foam that was sprayed on the house for insulation. Backdraft dampers remain taped closed. Ducts terminated against a wall or floor in the attic and don’t actually get to the outside. If a bathroom fan that is rated to be &lt; 0.3 sones is noisy, its a bad installation. Period. Fix it. It may still be moving enough air to meet the ventilation requirements, but if it is noisy the homeowner will find a way to turn it off and stuff it full of socks. Then the air in the house will get bad and people will get sick. And the occupants will get angrier than the air! And the really dumb thing is that all these codes and standards and mathematical computations and formulas to size the fan correctly mean absolutely nothing if the fan is turned off.</p>EPCs - Do You Know The Law?tag:homeenergypros.lbl.gov,2017-07-05:6069565:BlogPost:2191152017-07-05T17:30:00.000ZHome Energy Magazinehttp://homeenergypros.lbl.gov/profile/HomeEnergyMagazine
<p><a href="http://homeenergy.org/images/blog/1023.jpg" target="_blank"><img class="align-left" src="http://homeenergy.org/images/blog/1023.jpg"></img></a> Whether you are a property owner, landlord, tenant, contractor, or otherwise, it is essential to know the current and proposed laws surrounding energy performance certificates, or EPCs.</p>
<p>An EPC is essentially a guide to how efficiently a property uses energy, the cost of running the property, and recommendations on how to potentially improve the energy efficiency of the property.</p>
<p>An EPC is…</p>
<p><a href="http://homeenergy.org/images/blog/1023.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://homeenergy.org/images/blog/1023.jpg" class="align-left"/></a>Whether you are a property owner, landlord, tenant, contractor, or otherwise, it is essential to know the current and proposed laws surrounding energy performance certificates, or EPCs.</p>
<p>An EPC is essentially a guide to how efficiently a property uses energy, the cost of running the property, and recommendations on how to potentially improve the energy efficiency of the property.</p>
<p>An EPC is required whenever a property is built, sold, or rented. New owners or tenants should have access to the property EPC before any agreement is reached.</p>
<p>EPCs currently give the property a rating from A to G depending on its energy efficiency. A is highest level of efficiency with G being the lowest. EPCs are currently applicable for 10 years before another inspection by an accredited assessor is required.</p>
<p>In March of 2015, the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change approved new energy efficiency regulations. These regulations are due to bring about a number of new standards, one of which is the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES).</p>
<p>MEES is a new law that will introduce a new minimum energy efficiency standard for commercial buildings. The new MEES law will introduce a minimum standard of E, meaning that buildings cannot be rented if they are rated as an F or G on the scale. The law will come into effect for new leases and renewals from April 1, 2018. From April 1 2023, this will apply to all leases.</p>
<p>These new law changes come after a number of damning reports suggesting that a number of commercial and residential properties in the United Kingdom have extremely poor energy efficiency.</p>
<p>Analysis of EU data in 2013 publicized that homes in the United Kingdom are some of the most expensive to heat in Europe because of poor insulation and general low standard of maintenance.</p>
<p>More recently, a 2016 report from the Association for the Conservation of Energy revealed that over one-third of non-domestic buildings in London were rated E or lower on the EPC scale.</p>
<p>In London, 37% of buildings were given this grade, in comparison to just 34% that achieved a rating of C or higher. Perhaps most troublingly for England’s capital is the 18,000 non-domestic buildings that rated F or G.</p>
<p>While it is vital for landlords, investors, developers, and lenders to know the law, it is even more essential that everyone is aware of how to adhere to the new law and the changes that can be implemented to ensure that energy efficiency ratings in properties remain an E or above.</p>
<p>Initially, it is extremely important that you know if any of your buildings are at risk of falling below the accepted level of the new standards. Furthermore, it is indispensable that you analyse your existing leases. Requirements like rent reviews may not have been drafted with the new MEES law in mind. You should also complete any work that needs doing to your properties well in advance of the legal changes in April of next year. Getting these changes fixed early will ensure that you avoid the inevitably higher costs later on, whilst also adding early value to your properties.</p>
<p>Improving energy efficiency does not require a major overhaul. There are some simple alterations and additions will ensure that a property jumps up its EPC ratings immediately.</p>
<ul>
<li>Confirm that the central heating systems in your properties are competent, specifically the boiler. An aged, floundering system could have an immensely adverse influence on your energy efficiency rating. While this is a fairly costly task, the finances pale into unimportance when likened to the prospective penalties that will be forced if any properties are beneath an E rating when April 2018 rolls around.</li>
<li>You must also make sure that your loft and walls are insulated sufficiently. Older buildings are likely to have comparably poor insulation, especially in the loft. This can make a huge difference to your energy efficiency rating if done properly. Loft insulation in modern homes ideally should be around 270mm in depth. If your insulation is below 90mm you are able to apply for governmental funding to have the depth increased. You are also able to apply for funding to improve the insulation in your cavity walls if the current situation is not sufficient.</li>
<li>Always try and consider renewable technologies when improving the energy efficiency of your properties e.g. solar panels. The efficient, long-lasting, bill reducing performance of these technologies will far outweigh their initial purchase and installation costs and will make your properties extremely desirable to potential buyers and tenants.</li>
<li>Even minor fixes and alterations like changing halogen or any high-energy bulbs and replacing them with LED’s or low energy alternatives will ensure that your properties energy efficiency rating is vastly improved and are ready for the new laws set to take effect next April.</li>
</ul>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Jason McGrinder</strong><em> is a qualified domestic and non domestic energy assessor and also director of <a href="https://www.epcforyou.co.uk/" target="_blank">EPC For You</a>. He started in the fledgling energy efficiency sector in 2008 when based in London and trained with Habitus Surveyors and has since then started his own company that offers varying energy survey services for a growing UK client base. </em></p>
<p><em>This blog originally appeared on <a href="http://www.homeenergy.org" target="_blank">www.homeenergy.org</a>.</em></p>New Report Shows Big Jump in Net-Zero Energy Homestag:homeenergypros.lbl.gov,2017-06-28:6069565:BlogPost:2193102017-06-28T20:30:00.000ZHome Energy Magazinehttp://homeenergypros.lbl.gov/profile/HomeEnergyMagazine
<p><a href="http://api.ning.com:80/files/Sw5rL*YdSShoqTecWomFMT4D2IiNTtivkkMp*9kaGUl6mMgQjIxeDCKjD56Oh2Eu7VyOSvelCHIzanBOo6Wv9YZaPmOglEro/ScreenShot20170629at8.20.33AM.png" target="_self"><img class="align-full" src="http://api.ning.com:80/files/Sw5rL*YdSShoqTecWomFMT4D2IiNTtivkkMp*9kaGUl6mMgQjIxeDCKjD56Oh2Eu7VyOSvelCHIzanBOo6Wv9YZaPmOglEro/ScreenShot20170629at8.20.33AM.png?width=650" width="650"></img></a></p>
<p>Net-zero energy homes seem to be growing their way out of a purely niche market. The number of zero energy residential units—homes that produce as much energy as they consume—in the United States and Canada grew 33% over the previous year, according to a new report by the Net Zero Energy…</p>
<p><a href="http://api.ning.com:80/files/Sw5rL*YdSShoqTecWomFMT4D2IiNTtivkkMp*9kaGUl6mMgQjIxeDCKjD56Oh2Eu7VyOSvelCHIzanBOo6Wv9YZaPmOglEro/ScreenShot20170629at8.20.33AM.png" target="_self"><img src="http://api.ning.com:80/files/Sw5rL*YdSShoqTecWomFMT4D2IiNTtivkkMp*9kaGUl6mMgQjIxeDCKjD56Oh2Eu7VyOSvelCHIzanBOo6Wv9YZaPmOglEro/ScreenShot20170629at8.20.33AM.png?width=650" width="650" class="align-full"/></a></p>
<p>Net-zero energy homes seem to be growing their way out of a purely niche market. The number of zero energy residential units—homes that produce as much energy as they consume—in the United States and Canada grew 33% over the previous year, according to a new report by the Net Zero Energy Coalition titled “<a href="http://netzeroenergycoalition.com/2016-zero-energy-inventory/" target="_blank">To Zero and Beyond: 2016</a>.” A total of 8,203 single family and multifamily units were counted in 2016, up from the 6,177 in 2015.</p>
<p>“A combination of policy and grassroots efforts is driving the push towards zero energy housing,” said Shilpa Sankaran, executive director of the Net Zero Energy Coalition. “This was the first time we were able to compare year-over-year growth, and we were surprised by how much the market has expanded and momentum has increased in just one year. It’s encouraging to see that the market leaders and local governments are moving in the right direction regardless of the Administration’s push in the other direction.”</p>
<p>Buildings and their energy use account for 41% of carbon emissions in the United States. In order to avoid the worst effects of global warming, the World Green Building Council recommended in its recently published report, <a href="http://www.worldgbc.org/sites/default/files/From%20Thousands%20To%20Billions%20WorldGBC%20report_FINAL%20issue%20290517%20Low-Res.pdf" target="_blank"><em>From Thousands to Billions</em></a>, that all new buildings must operate at net zero carbon by 2030 and that <em>all </em>buildings must operate at net zero carbon by 2050.</p>
<p>We’re starting to see progress in this direction. California leads the way with the highest number of both units and zero energy homebuilders for the past two years. Low-carbon building sector policies exist in multiple cities including Berkeley, Palo Alto, San Francisco, Oakland and Santa Monica. The high growth rate of solar installations in California has also led to the growth of zero-energy units. As a result of its statewide initiatives, zero energy units in California increased by 104% in the past year.</p>
<p>Massachusetts came in second place, with 499 zero-energy homes, followed by Oregon at 419. As in California, Massachusetts has seen the snowball effect, with a 128% increase in zero energy units over last year.</p>
<p>Nearly 30,000 more units are being planned, which would amount to a 337% growth in zero energy units if built according to plan. Some estimates place the zero energy market at $1.3 trillion by 2025.</p>
<p>“While this is great progress, we still need to overcome market scaling challenges such as perceived risk around change, cost, technical feasibility and market interest. We look forward to working with our coalition partners and members to address these challenges,” said coalition director Ann Edminster.</p>
<p>Across the U.S. and Canada, the majority of new units were part of multi-unit projects, indicating confidence among the housing developers, who experience these homes as having strong market appeal.</p>
<p>The coalition is providing resources for the industry to more simply design, build, and sell zero energy homes. ”To Zero and Beyond: 2016” reveals a new online tool the coalition plans to launch, Hub Zero, designed for project teams, policy makers, and product manufacturers, providing them with the resources needed to develop more zero-energy projects.</p>
<p>The report includes several categories of homes that can be classified as zero energy: those that are already zero net energy (ZNE), those that are net producers of energy, zero energy ready homes (designed to achieve ZNE with the addition of renewables), and Thousand Home Challenge units (deep energy reduction projects in existing homes).</p>
<p>“These numbers, while small, point to a market that is quickly moving toward maturity. We expect an even more dramatic uptick in the number of zero-energy homes this time next year,” said Shilpa Sankaran.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Shilpa Sankaran</strong><em> is the executive director of the Net Zero Energy Coalition.</em></p>
<p>###</p>
<p>Founded in Canada, in January 2006, <a href="http://netzeroenergycoalition.com/about/" target="_blank">the Net Zero Energy Coalition</a> has grown to serve the ZNE building community across all of North America. Our mission is to accelerate market adoption of zero-energy buildings and communities in order to make the built environment a positive asset on the balance sheet for the planet.</p>
<p><em>This blog originally appeared on <a href="http://www.homeenergy.org" target="_blank">www.homeenergy.org</a>.</em></p>Seeking Novel Applications of Thermal Storagetag:homeenergypros.lbl.gov,2017-06-27:6069565:BlogPost:2192052017-06-27T13:13:29.000ZSarah OConnellhttp://homeenergypros.lbl.gov/profile/SarahOConnell452
<p>Through its JUMP platform, Oak Ridge National Lab has partnered with Trane to host a <a href="https://jump.ideascale.com/a/ideas/top/campaign-filter/byids/campaigns/20308" target="_blank">technology challenge on thermal storage</a>. It is crucial that innovative techniques and materials be developed that efficiently condition occupied spaces, contribute to improved occupant comfort, and have low product and installation costs. Such energy, comfort and cost considerations will best enable…</p>
<p>Through its JUMP platform, Oak Ridge National Lab has partnered with Trane to host a <a href="https://jump.ideascale.com/a/ideas/top/campaign-filter/byids/campaigns/20308" target="_blank">technology challenge on thermal storage</a>. It is crucial that innovative techniques and materials be developed that efficiently condition occupied spaces, contribute to improved occupant comfort, and have low product and installation costs. Such energy, comfort and cost considerations will best enable contractors and builders to provide customers with high-performing, sustainable buildings.</p>
<p>Thermal storage has multiple benefits which include: 1) 10X lifetime when compared to traditional batteries, 2) Adding a “partial ice” system to a building can be done at a lower installed cost than a traditional air-cooled chiller system, and 3) Many current thermal storage tanks are 99% recyclable and do not involve remediation of hazardous materials at the end of their lifecycle. Even though energy storage costs are trending down and thermal storage systems in general are approximately 1/4 the cost of electric battery systems, thermal storage has not gained global adoption at the scale which would support the greatest benefit to the power grid and cost advantages to consumers. Most current iterations of thermal storage systems involve large modular insulated tanks which connect to the building chiller systems to produce chilled water or ice inside the tanks. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>The challenge is to develop a new way to heat and cool commercial buildings using thermal storage. Share your ideas! </p>
<p> </p>
<p>The winner would receive $5K in cash sponsored by Trane and up to $20K in-kind support from ORNL technical experts. Additionally, Successful JUMP participants looking for funding and incubation support may be invited to participate in the Clean Tech Open Accelerator Program based on technical and market merit. Ideas will be accepted through <strong>Sunday, September 10, 2017</strong>.</p>Spray Foam Insulation In a Cement Block Home?tag:homeenergypros.lbl.gov,2017-06-21:6069565:BlogPost:2185982017-06-21T16:30:00.000ZGreen IDhttp://homeenergypros.lbl.gov/profile/GreenID
<p><span>So you’ve heard about spray foam insulation, but you live in a block home. This makes you wonder, is it even possible to have spray foam in a cement block home? What about in an older home?</span><br></br> <span>​</span><br></br> <span>The answer is YES!</span><br></br> <br></br> <span>The ideal way to install spray foam insulation in a cement block home is during construction. This allows professional installers direct access to the empty concrete block cells that will be filled with the spray foam…</span></p>
<p><span>So you’ve heard about spray foam insulation, but you live in a block home. This makes you wonder, is it even possible to have spray foam in a cement block home? What about in an older home?</span><br/> <span>​</span><br/> <span>The answer is YES!</span><br/> <br/> <span>The ideal way to install spray foam insulation in a cement block home is during construction. This allows professional installers direct access to the empty concrete block cells that will be filled with the spray foam product.</span><br/> <br/> <span>However, even after construction is finished, or during a remodel or retrofit of an older home, they can get foam insulation into a block wall by drilling a series of holes near the top of the wall and filling the wall one vertical cell at a time.</span><br/> <br/> <span>Working from the inside face (or the surface most likely to be covered with a finish), contractors drill 5/8-inch or 7/8-inch holes into the face of the blocks about 4 feet up from the floor to fit an injection tube running from a “mixer” that combines a non-toxic liquid resin, a foaming agent, and air.</span><br/> <br/> <span>Once the foam starts to seep through the injection holes (indicating a full cavity encompassing several blocks), the process is repeated along the length of the wall every 4 feet, and then again along the top of the wall about a foot short of its full height.</span><br/> <span>Here is how that works: as one cell fills up, the foam will start to exit from the hole in the adjoining cell, signaling the installer to move the hose to the next cell and seal the hole that was just filled. One vertical cell is filled at a time, until the entire block wall is full of foam insulation.</span><br/> <br/> <span>Another option would be to fur out an interior wall with wood or steel studs and spray the foam directly into place over the face of the block wall and in between the studs. Be advised, this option would imply added material costs in the form of studs, sheetrock, etc…and it would result in a slight – although measurable – loss of interior square footage.</span><br/> <br/> <span>These are only two examples of how spray foam insulation can be retro-fitted to existing concrete structures. Spray foam is a highly adaptable material, and it can be used on nearly any project.</span><br/> <span><br/></span></p>The Results Are In: These Are The Most Energy-Efficient Utilities in the UStag:homeenergypros.lbl.gov,2017-06-20:6069565:BlogPost:2185952017-06-20T17:00:00.000ZHome Energy Magazinehttp://homeenergypros.lbl.gov/profile/HomeEnergyMagazine
<p><img alt="" height="278" src="http://homeenergy.org/public/js/tinymce/source/top%20and%20bottom%2010.jpg" width="482"></img></p>
<p></p>
<p>Our first-ever scorecard of US utilities, released today, reveals striking regional differences and the best— and worst — performers on energy efficiency. The <a href="http://aceee.org/research-report/u1707" target="_blank"><em>2017 Utility Energy Efficiency</em></a><em> Scorecard</em> looks at the performance of the 51 largest electricutilities in the United States and highlights cutting-edge efforts. Topping the list are Eversource Massachusetts and National Grid…</p>
<p><img src="http://homeenergy.org/public/js/tinymce/source/top%20and%20bottom%2010.jpg" alt="" width="482" height="278"/></p>
<p></p>
<p>Our first-ever scorecard of US utilities, released today, reveals striking regional differences and the best— and worst — performers on energy efficiency. The <a href="http://aceee.org/research-report/u1707" target="_blank"><em>2017 Utility Energy Efficiency</em></a><em> Scorecard</em> looks at the performance of the 51 largest electricutilities in the United States and highlights cutting-edge efforts. Topping the list are Eversource Massachusetts and National Grid Massachusetts, which both earned the same score. Rounding out the top five are Pacific Gas &amp; Electric, Baltimore Gas &amp; Electric, and Eversource Connecticut.</p>
<p>Utilities are the primary providers of energy efficiency programs for US electricity customers. These programs deliver enormous benefits to households and businesses. Efficiency lowers customer bills, allows utilities to avoid or defer building new power plants or other infrastructure, and reduces local pollutants associated with electricity generation.</p>
<p>We wanted to dig further into this topic to determine which utilities are doing the best on energy efficiency programs and how others can improve. Typical programs encourage the purchase of efficient appliances, lighting, and heating, ventilation, and cooling (HVAC) — both at home and in other places such as commercial kitchens and restaurants.</p>
<p><em>Click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RId0J46knzM&amp;feature=youtu.be" target="_blank">here</a> to view a short video of the lead author discussing the report’s findings.</em></p>
<p>Leading utilities sometimes undertake 20 or more efficiency programs. Only a few utilities take some of the more forward-thinking approaches such as promoting smart thermostats, residential geo-targeting, zero net energy buildings, and advanced space-heating heat pumps.</p>
<p>This report<em>, </em>the newest addition to our <em>Scorecard </em>series, is a first-of-its-kind deep dive into utility-sector energy efficiency efforts. It provides an important data baseline to assess energy efficiency in the utility sector.</p>
<h3><strong>The Results Are In</strong></h3>
<p>At the top of the list, Eversource Massachusetts and National Grid Massachusetts both earn 91% of total points. Both achieved more than 3% savings as a percentage of their retail sales in 2015 — a notable achievement. The top 10 show impressive commitment to efficiency through a wide range of long-term programs and policies.</p>
<p>Based on 2015 data, we examined 18 metrics across three categories including quantitative savings and spending performance, program diversity and emerging areas, and efficiency-related regulatory issues. Notable findings:</p>
<ul>
<li>Some regions scored much better than others. Utilities in the Northeast, the highest-scoring region, earned, on average, 62% of total points, followed closely by those in the West, which earned 57%. The Northeast average is more than twice that of utilities in the Southeast, the lowest-scoring region, and nearly twice that of utilities in the mid-Atlantic and the Southeast. </li>
<li>Five of the bottom 10 utilities are in the Southeast, and seven of the top 10 are in either the Northeast or the West. </li>
<li>The top 10 invested a higher percentage of total revenue on energy efficiency. They spent an average of 6% of revenue on efficiency programs; the bottom 10 invested an average of 0.7%. The overall average was 7%. </li>
<li>Utilities saved more energy than they planned. On average, they saved 0.89% of retail sales, compared to the average target of 0.77%. </li>
<li>The top utilities are located in the top-performing states. Nine of the top 10 utilities are located in states that also break the top 10 in our <em>State Scorecard</em>. </li>
<li>The 51 utilities, on average,used efficiency programs to reduce by 0.79% the peak demand for power, which is typically the costliest to generate. </li>
<li>The most common efficiency programs were residential HVAC and industrial and commercial custom </li>
<li>Three Texas utilities scored in the top 10 on the low-income program metric. This includes CPS Energy, which directed more than half of its portfolio expenditures to low-income programs. </li>
<li>Thirty-nine utilities earned a point for offering residential time-of-use rates. Arizona Public Service and Salt River Project in Arizona have high subscription levels; more than half (51%) of the former and nearly a third (31%) of the latter subscribe to these </li>
<li>Fewer than half (24) of utilities earned full points for evaluation, measurement, and verification (EM&amp;V), which can increase savings by providing guidance on how to improve programs.</li>
</ul>
<p>Overall, scores vary widely among the 51 utilities, leaving a lot of room for improvement. The five utilities with the most room to grow are Ohio Edison, Florida Power and Light, Entergy LA, Dominion Energy, and Alabama Power.</p>
<p>The report shows impressive and exemplary utility commitment to offering customers energy efficiency services. The findings underscore that state and regulatory support as well as company commitment are critical for high achievement. We are pleased to provide this snapshot of utility-sector efficiency and hope it will help promote effective program design and implementation.</p>
<h3><strong>Webinar and Regional Insights</strong></h3>
<p><a href="https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/1090246426461478657" target="_blank">Tune in next week to our webinar</a>, where we’ll dive even more deeply into the results of the <em>Scorecard</em> with additional reactions from regional energy efficiency organizations across the United States.</p>
<h3><strong>How We Developed The Rankings</strong></h3>
<p>We developed metrics that span a wide range of vital utility-sector efficiency programs and performance, each with a point value relative to its importance to utility-sector energy efficiency. We focus on 2015 performance but also on long-term planning and innovation, which are critical to the continued inclusion of energy efficiency as a utility resource. The metrics aim to evaluate performance in a specific utility service territory, although we recognize that utilities operate under complex regulatory and policy landscapes.</p>
<p>The report, which received no utility funding, focuses on the 51 largest electric utilities by retail sales volume. It specifically looks at state jurisdictional utilities rather than parent or holding companies. We include utility-funded programs, both those operated directly by utilities and those operated by third-party administrators with funding from utilities.</p>
<p>We collected public utility filings, reports, and documents to create an initial data set, and worked with utility and other contacts to fill in gaps and confirm data. In some cases, data was adjusted for accurate comparison across utilities. All 51 utilities were provided the opportunity to review the report before its publication.</p>
<p></p>
<p>- <em>Grace Relf conducts research and analysis on utility-sector energy efficiency policies for ACEEE. Specifically, she focuses on programs and initiatives such as rate design and utility resource planning. She joined ACEEE in 2016.</em></p>Women in Building Performance: Cynthia Adamstag:homeenergypros.lbl.gov,2017-06-13:6069565:BlogPost:2185422017-06-13T17:37:43.000ZHome Energy Magazinehttp://homeenergypros.lbl.gov/profile/HomeEnergyMagazine
<p><a href="http://homeenergy.org/images/blog/1010.jpg" target="_blank"><img class="align-left" src="http://homeenergy.org/images/blog/1010.jpg"></img></a> Cynthia Adams is the CEO of Pearl, a national home certification company, which certifies home features that contribute to its comfort, energy performance, and indoor air quality. As a third-party certification company, Pearl provides independent documentation for refinance or resale (think Carfax for homes).</p>
<p><strong>Macie Melendez:</strong> How did you get started in the home performance…</p>
<p><a href="http://homeenergy.org/images/blog/1010.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://homeenergy.org/images/blog/1010.jpg" class="align-left"/></a>Cynthia Adams is the CEO of Pearl, a national home certification company, which certifies home features that contribute to its comfort, energy performance, and indoor air quality. As a third-party certification company, Pearl provides independent documentation for refinance or resale (think Carfax for homes).</p>
<p><strong>Macie Melendez:</strong> How did you get started in the home performance industry?</p>
<p><strong>Cynthia Adams:</strong> My husband and I started a green construction company back in the mid-90s. Initially it started with us renovating a house we bought for ourselves—a 1770’s brick home where everything was buried under terrible carpet and popcorn ceilings. That home was my first foray into home performance. We had indoor air quality issues, in part due to lead paint and moisture issues, and it got me thinking about a lot of things…particularly, what are the kinds of homes that we want to live in? That we want to save from 200 years of bad renovation? This idea of utility and performance got an early start with that project.</p>
<p>Next, we built a house. At the time, there was no US Green Building Council, no LEED accreditation, and so on, but there were people talking about how to build efficiently and source locally. Again, it got me thinking about, what kind of home is a sanctuary that you want to hold onto? And what makes it worth holding onto? That line of thinking informed how we built our home. And out of that came a desire to build for others with those principles in mind. First we started with remodels, then got into general contracting.</p>
<p>For a while after, my focus was new builds. And I built with the mindset that, if you have a blank slate, make sure to do it right.</p>
<p><strong>MM:</strong> How has your career evolved?</p>
<p><strong>CA:</strong> With a couple of folks from our construction company group, we started a design/show room and a green building consulting business. We were working with mixed use and development projects, and then the market crashed in 2008. And it crashed especially hard in the resort community where we were living. We were able to sell our businesses at that time, and I moved back to Virginia.</p>
<p>After building my own home, starting a company to build others’ homes, and then working with multiple builders, I thought the next step was working at the community level. I got an opportunity to take a position with the City of Charlottesville as the Climate Protection Program Coordinator. The purpose of that position was set up energy efficiency and renewable energy programs to help the city meet its CO<sub>2</sub> reduction goals. I was used to working with contractors, so it seemed like a natural fit.</p>
<p>While at that position, we applied for a SEEA [Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance] grant, which we won for a half a million dollars. The grant was to fund the set implementation of a nonprofit to work in partnership with the local government The nonprofit was supposed to function independently of political swings and municipal budget constraints, and the organization formed out of that grant award was LEAP [Local Energy Alliance Program]. I decided to apply for the Executive Director position, and from a national search, I won the position. I was there for five years and secured $7 million in grants tied to multifamily, commercial, and residential energy efficiency. We worked in multiple areas of the state.</p>
<p>I also founded the Virginia Energy Efficiency Council, a member organization which is <em>the </em>voice for energy efficiency in the state, and then became involved on a national level when elected to the national board for Efficiency First.</p>
<p>At that point, I realized that the problems I was seeing in the industry weren’t going to get solved in my nonprofit work. The areas I wanted to focus on required a different funding and execution strategy. I had made a lot of connections along the Stimulus road and decided that, along with Robin LeBaron, formerly of the National Home Performance Council, to start Pearl Certification. Robin and I began full-time with Pearl in May 2015.</p>
<p><strong>MM:</strong> When you started out, what was your biggest obstacle? How did you overcome it?</p>
<p><strong>CA:</strong> One was being taken seriously in the industry, in part because I was a woman. Construction is still largely a guy’s sport, and even more so seventeen years ago. At that time the women I knew all did interior design, and so I immediately learned a trade: how to tile. I was laying out bathrooms and kitchens and managing a crew. It was interesting. People frequently thought I was there to bring the food, not running the tile crew for these projects.</p>
<p>Once I had proven myself, people would get to know me and then recommend me. But before that, it felt like it was an uphill battle being a woman in a “man’s” trade.</p>
<p><strong>MM:</strong> What is the most rewarding thing about your job?</p>
<p><strong>CA:</strong> Being able to do good everywhere. The thing I really like about Pearl is that we help homeowners recoup value, contractors sell energy efficiency, and real estate agents be more profitable. In turn, buyers get a better product. They get a healthy, efficient home, and they learn how to take care of it. No one loses in that equation, and that is one of the best feelings ever. My job is ethical and positive, and it feels good to help foster the success of others.</p>
<p><strong>MM:</strong> In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges for women in this industry?</p>
<p><strong>CA:</strong> I’m at a stage in my life where this is less relevant (my kids are in college), but I think the biggest challenge is balancing family life with a career. When I had my kids, I learned that it’s hard trying to manage schedules with school and summer and sick days, and there’s an expectation that you, as a mom, have to manage that. It’s difficult for women to balance family life and work life, and there’s not much sympathy for that. </p>
<p><strong>MM:</strong> What advice would you give to a woman starting out in the home performance industry?</p>
<p><strong>CA:</strong> Don’t impose any artificial limits on yourself but be smart about what you commit to. If you have a vision and a passion to get there, then go for it. Generally speaking, I’ve found people don’t work too hard to get in your way if your goal is to take on more and get things done. And with that in mind, it’s quite possible to take on more than you can deliver. So learn early how to prioritize and structure your days to get the most out of them. And then really go for it—whatever <em>it</em> is for you.</p>
<p></p>
<p><em>This blog originally appeared on <a href="http://homeenergy.org/show/blog/id/1010/nav/blog" target="_blank">www.homeenergy.org</a>. </em></p>The Climate Accordtag:homeenergypros.lbl.gov,2017-06-09:6069565:BlogPost:2183282017-06-09T19:57:36.000ZGlen Gallohttp://homeenergypros.lbl.gov/profile/GlenGallo
<p dir="ltr"><span> </span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>So first I would like to point out that our leaving the Climate Accord was foolish. It was a non binding agreement to begin with. We could chose or chose not to contribute as we saw fit. It was based on self policing. Leaving it does not really make sense and simply diminishes our leadership role globally in an arena we are quite capable of leading.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"> Neither Kyoto nor Paris ever had a chance of being ratified by the…</p>
<p dir="ltr"><span> </span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>So first I would like to point out that our leaving the Climate Accord was foolish. It was a non binding agreement to begin with. We could chose or chose not to contribute as we saw fit. It was based on self policing. Leaving it does not really make sense and simply diminishes our leadership role globally in an arena we are quite capable of leading.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"> Neither Kyoto nor Paris ever had a chance of being ratified by the Senate. So it is simply a gesture not a binding promise of any kind. Our participation it should be noted will still be active on the Big Business side Local and State Governments even while our Federal government bows out.</p>
<p dir="ltr"> It is odd to me that so few know any details of this accord and its history yet have polarized opinions one way or the other. Most of which are probably not based on fact just bad rumours While this author is critical of the accord it in no way indicates my view of AGW. I think it is silly to contend that billions of people burning a campfire 24/7 365 for a hundred years or more does not have an impact. I believe that the data indicates we need to do better. I believe in energy conservation so much so I founded a business on it. I very much believe in sustainable practices. I think we must think globally and act locally. I do my best to reduce my footprint.</p>
<p dir="ltr"> And as life is complicated so are my opinions on this matter. While I feel the Paris agreement lacking with many serious issues I felt we were best served by being part of it rather than on the outside of it. We can effect no change on the agreement by not participating</p>
<p dir="ltr"> We first see this movement by the UN in stockholm in 1972 Declaration of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment</p>
<p dir="ltr"> <a href="http://www.un-documents.net/unchedec.htm">http://www.un-documents.net/unchedec.htm</a></p>
<p dir="ltr"> 26 principales</p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>1-7 I have no issue with as they are measures of conservation and action by countries</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"> At 8-12 we get into the weeds a bit in my view. There is no doubt that I agree with concept in 8 but that is a National issue in my view and not an International one. I can use Venezuela as an example here. Once a vibrant and robust economy that did provide much of Principle 8 now fails at it. </p>
<p dir="ltr"> 13- 16 l think these are solid principles</p>
<p dir="ltr"> 17 If it read their State instead of States I would agree with this</p>
<p dir="ltr"> 18-21 All good no issues</p>
<p dir="ltr"> 22-23 Not really agreeing with these.</p>
<p dir="ltr"> 24-26 Well we become become Countries and Nations again so that is a good thing and these principles are sound.</p>
<p dir="ltr"> I think that the opening statement of the 1972 Declaration proclamations are visionary well put and worth of pursuit. And many of the principles. But I disagree that “developed countries” have a burden to pay for damages in “underdeveloped countries” Are we to be taxed for our success? How is this fair? For the most part the UN has been a bad steward of money and while a worthwhile venture has had its share of failures. Many of the underdeveloped countries have been bad stewards of their own resources, their own money and held back due to politics rather than opportunity often by their own government. Right from the beginning in 1972 it asks for monies with no accountability where that money is really going. It looks to be an expansion of UN power under the pretense of doing well by the environment. It reeks of money redistribution with no clear path toward pollution reduction.</p>
<p dir="ltr"> <a href="https://unfccc.int/resource/docs/convkp/conveng.pdf">https://unfccc.int/resource/docs/convkp/conveng.pdf</a></p>
<p dir="ltr"> 1992 We visit this some 20 years later and now have United Nations Framework Convention Climate Change There are some others but this document serves well in the history of the concept and it establishes a secretariat The bones of the administration is put together.The concept of Climate Change now has an official place in the UN. I see this as positive as well. One cannot really move forward without some vehicle. It takes the principles of Stockholm and move toward a reality.</p>
<p dir="ltr"> So for all the deniers that claim it went from global warming to Climate Change should review the history. It has been Climate Change at least since 1992. The Article does a good job of setting groundwork of what we are dealing with and what are the goals. Definitions that we use still today. So since 1992 this document has been signed by the world. It is a framework but still prevails as the only agreement thus far ratified by the US Senate in October of 1992.</p>
<p dir="ltr"> <a href="https://unfccc.int/resource/docs/convkp/kpeng.pdf">https://unfccc.int/resource/docs/convkp/kpeng.pdf</a></p>
<p dir="ltr"> 2005 We now move into a new phase with the Kyoto Protocol.Of note that the use of the term Protocol was used for Montreal agreement on the restriction of Fluorocarbons. A very successful project that had very good results. Changes in freon gases to safer versions has had a real and positive effect worldwide. Since the primary producers and consumers of fluorocarbon gases was essentially Annex 1 countries it was easier to manage and very successful. </p>
<p dir="ltr"> It should be noted that the United States never signed the Kyoto Protocol and Canada left it. It uses the framework of the convention as a base and launches from vehicle to drive policy.</p>
<p dir="ltr"> Early in the Kyoto Protocol we see that Annex 1 has many restrictions and provisions. Annex 2 has less and non Annex well they get a free ticket to pollute essentially. Part of which I touched on earlier. It establishes Annex and Non Annex countries. It might have been better served as Payer and Payee because that is in fact what it is. What it does is put the Annex 1 at a position whereby they essentially agree that through their success that they have damaged the planet. A point I find no reason to argue with. But by establishing these Annexes classes it also provides loophole to Annex 2 and non Annex countries to not reduce carbon in the protocol. They are given a pass if you will to catch up economically if you will before self restricting carbon output. They are free to damage as much as they like or almost anyway.</p>
<p dir="ltr"> This establishes I believe two fallacies and inequity right away. I will take this in two parts.</p>
<p dir="ltr"> One assumes that other countries can catch up with the US and Western Europe economically. Let’s forget for a moment that they had the same opportunities that we did to develop but failed to do so. In fact one could contend that in a large part their ability to develop now is based on technological advanced outside their respective countries. Maybe not every country but I will put to list two Non Annex Countries China and India they are Number 1 and 3 on the global carbon producers with the US in a very solid number 2. So China produces roughly two times our carbon emissions and we produce about twice that of India.</p>
<p dir="ltr"> So can China and India become as big of an economic powerhouse and success the US did and is. Should we make sure they do? And if so at what cost?</p>
<p dir="ltr"> Well according to the Kyoto Protocol at the expense of the environment and funded by Annex 1 countries by their reduction and restrictions. So essentially we are paying our competitors to catch up. I am not sure how this bizarre scenario even make sense.</p>
<p dir="ltr"> Developed countries with no fore knowledge mucked up things. It is agreed that change should happen. Developing countries have access to the same technology but have not the same restrictions.</p>
<p dir="ltr"> The result is predictable. While the US and Europe have slightly reduced their usage after all carbon reduction is hard in a growing population base dependent on power. Especially during economic booms. China is pushing and expanding at such a high rate that not only are they producing more but so much more that we see a spike of carbon output globally from 2000 to today (it might be leveling off) that out paces any twenty year graph of days gone by. You know when the US had leaded gas, Incandescent bulbs, primarily coal fired plants, limited electronics and a smaller population. In other words environmentally speaking when you look at carbon production it is worse today than when the Ohio River was on fire.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>The truth is Kyoto failed to provide any carbon reductions over the last 12 years save one during the 2008-2009 recession. Which was not the result of Kyoto. In fact it has gone up at an alarming rate.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"> Now is a good time to view some graphs that prove my point that Kyoto failed to be effective.</p>
<p dir="ltr"> <a href="http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EN.ATM.CO2E.PC">http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EN.ATM.CO2E.PC</a></p>
<p dir="ltr"> </p>
<p dir="ltr"><span><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/8rz6hdXltDj0gMoKudL-ZGyY388y3_AJF992OdQC2an7aJ_YiaVcPWx8pn__kmp5c8Re5imwFQmSfW2bvwkuIsVpEcn49Bc6U8vOjm9i2dwhH3unHEPRplinf8ODDMmLlcNeFhMl" width="624" height="351" alt="Screenshot 2017-06-06 10.57.19.png"/></span></p>
<p dir="ltr"> </p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>As you look at the graph above you can see a sharp increase in carbon emissions since the signing of the Kyoto Protocol in 2005 . A slight decrease in 2008 to 2009 which proves that a recession is good for reducing carbon if painful financially. But overall a whopping 10 percent increase of an already hideously high output since the signing of Kyoto Protocol</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"> </p>
<p dir="ltr"> <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/what-global-co2-emissions-2016-mean-climate-change">https://www.carbonbrief.org/what-global-co2-emissions-2016-mean-climate-change</a></p>
<p dir="ltr"> </p>
<p dir="ltr"><span><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/ybQygN-bGbeuG16eJ1qywbo4jT7QHfhCYMJtKSrTUxOM85pgrEmEKVGGfYcflgJz9NHCws9VvyJIclzMMBQOcE95n_9FXy--kFpLhWVsC__DItNYtygUrid0GRsJtQEka4Zg6_Xy" width="624" height="648"/></span></p>
<p dir="ltr"> Getting data is always a bit fuzzy as they put it under different criteria. We will move from left down to right down. But one thing should be scary is that after all the talk. The placement of solar panels on roofs. The hybrid cars the campaigns The emergence of the powerful green energy sector. All that and more and we are still going in the wrong direction globally with emissions. Not by a little bit mind you but by ALOT and yea I can shout if I want to.</p>
<p dir="ltr">A) First looking at global it is very easy to see we are in a higher trajectory than the 1970s. It appears to be leveling off but anyone that has read graphs know that the data can change quickly.</p>
<p dir="ltr"> </p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>B)Emissions we see a steady graph up with all but coal which sees a big spike This is power plant start ups in China primarily</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"> </p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>C)Annex vs Non annex we see more than disparity moving down slowly very slowly is Annex 1 while the other non Annex rises rapidly and more than wipes out improvement by Annex by a big margin resulting in a net negative for the world. How much of this is that China is a gross polluter I will wonder aloud. Or could it be that Annex 1 countries are simply shifting the source manufacturing to China to claim better results for their own country for carbon emissions. Or as I suspect it is a bit of both.<br/></span></p>
<p dir="ltr"> D)We see in output China take the lead with a rather dramatic spike since 2000</p>
<p dir="ltr"> E)And per Capita where the US is still number one</p>
<p dir="ltr"> <a href="https://unfccc.int/resource/docs/2015/cop21/eng/l09r01.pdf">https://unfccc.int/resource/docs/2015/cop21/eng/l09r01.pdf</a></p>
<p dir="ltr"> </p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>Paris Agreement</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>So why change from Protocol to Agreement. Certainly Protocol sounds like a stronger word but this is a continuation of Kyoto and in the spirit of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change</span> </p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>We had Copenhagen and Warsaw in between Kyoto. I was actually on holiday in Denmark during the 2009 Copenhagen summit on Global Warming. I went to a couple of exhibits while the conference was going on It was ironic as DK can be cold in the winter to be sure this was one of the coldest in many years. OK don't start with the climate vs weather thing yes I understand it. It was ironic is what I am saying after all the buzz word was global warming at the time. There was little warmth in Denmark that winter.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"> So Obama signed the Paris Agreement and Trump is backing out. Let's start with one fact it is not binding as I point out in the very beginning. It was not ratified by the US Senate. Actually the agreement was never even presented to the Senate. Even the Democrats would have loathe to ratify it. In fact Obama never even proposed or intended to submit it. He knew the outcome. So in other words more of a guideline is how Barbarossa would have described it as he did the Pirates Code in the Pirates of the Caribbean. A guideline not really an Agreement nor an Accord.</p>
<p dir="ltr"> Paris agreement ramps up language to include urgent necessary immediate. While I might agree with much of what is says, what will it do?</p>
<p dir="ltr"> But this agreement they are asking Annex 1 to pony up in two ways. One would be the continued reduction of carbon emissions by Annex 1 and funding to mitigate as discussed in Copenhagen and Warsaw. One cannot move forward now without discussing The Green Climate Fund.</p>
<p dir="ltr"> <a href="http://www.greenclimate.fund/home">http://www.greenclimate.fund/home</a></p>
<p dir="ltr"> There has been much discussion of this vehicle over the last couple of days and most not true. The fund has high hopes of raising the Human Condition Thus far 10 billion has been pledged 3 billion from the US one Billion already paid. This is not close to the 100 billion dollar a year budget that maybe they dream of having one day. I highly doubt it will make that figure over the next 20 years as things stand today.</p>
<p dir="ltr"> But in spite of funding, creating projects and having a very pretty website The Green Climate Fund has done nothing save secure pledges and collect some monies. You see projects on their site how many people it will help. Cost of project but no funding to date. Furthermore as you explore some of the projects they are more feel good projects than carbon reducing ones. In fact some of them will most likely contribute more carbon produced by increasing the population of areas by raising the condition of the people. </p>
<p dir="ltr"> Now I am not against these projects for their face value. They are noble and improve people's lives. Nothing wrong with that. But the currency being used is carbon reduction which I feel it does not provide in many of the projects proposed. </p>
<p dir="ltr"> The problem going all the way back to 1972 is they they being the UN is putting politics ahead of the Planet.</p>
<p dir="ltr"> We can not condone the demise of the planet on some convoluted fairness. That would not be fair at all. We cannot continue to raise global carbon levels year by year and expect different results. If we are to collectively improve the planet it only makes sense that everyone plays by the same rules. We must reduce the use overall not just in some Nations or Annexes if you will, We must collectively reduce the amount of emissions across the board and across the planet. We must research ways and implement action to mitigate damage done.Otherwise we will continue to see scary graphs that are highly unfavorable to our future and future generations So far Kyoto failed to do anything positive save start a dialogue. The now active Green Climate Fund born in the cold climate of Copenhagen nursed in Warsaw and the teethed on the Paris Agreement seems doomed to the scrapheap of bad policy that the world has seen too many times before.</p>
<p dir="ltr"> Good intentions are not enough anymore we need good results. Paris does not get us there yet.</p>
<p dir="ltr">So I just slammed the Paris Agreement from its beginnings in 1972 to its current state. The graphs above and my reasoning prove at least I hope proves that that I come from a position of at least a small bit of research At least beyond a meme on the internet. But I also state that we should have stayed in. How is that I hold that opinion?</p>
<p dir="ltr"> I like the the little blue planet I call home. It's in need of a bit of cleaning and we cannot do it alone. It will take a global effort. The plan underway is poor to be sure. That’s ok sometimes you have to play the game from behind. You cannot lead from outside the boardroom. You cannot coach a team from the grandstands. The intentions of the agreement is noble even if the spirit and performance needs to change. We cannot influence nor fix a proposal that we we refuse to acknowledge. We cannot negotiate a contract unless we are one of the parties. We should take a long view on this, China certainly does.</p>
<p dir="ltr"> </p>Chicago's Micro Market Recovery Programtag:homeenergypros.lbl.gov,2017-06-02:6069565:BlogPost:2179242017-06-02T15:30:00.000ZAmber Vignierihttp://homeenergypros.lbl.gov/profile/AmberVignieri
<p><img alt="micro market recovery program target areas" class="aligncenter wp-image-5797" height="350" src="http://www.elevateenergy.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/micro-market-recovery-program-target-areas-1024x435.png" width="824"></img> Elevate Energy has <a href="http://www.elevateenergy.org/creating-efficient-healthy-home-west-pullman/" target="_blank">helped hundreds of homeowners</a> improve their buildings and reduce high utility bills through energy efficiency upgrades, with the important added benefits of strengthening communities and keeping housing affordable. One way that we do this is through the City of Chicago’s…</p>
<p><img class="aligncenter wp-image-5797" src="http://www.elevateenergy.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/micro-market-recovery-program-target-areas-1024x435.png" alt="micro market recovery program target areas" width="824" height="350"/>Elevate Energy has <a href="http://www.elevateenergy.org/creating-efficient-healthy-home-west-pullman/" target="_blank">helped hundreds of homeowners</a> improve their buildings and reduce high utility bills through energy efficiency upgrades, with the important added benefits of strengthening communities and keeping housing affordable. One way that we do this is through the City of Chicago’s <a href="http://www.elevateenergy.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2017-MMRP-infosheet-v5-FINAL.pdf" target="_blank">Micro Market Recovery Program</a> (MMRP), where we partner with community groups to provide no-cost energy efficiency home improvements to qualified homeowners in MMRP Target Areas. The energy efficiency upgrades make homes more comfortable, reduce energy bills, and improve indoor air quality. The upgrades may even increase home values. Income-qualified homeowners get access to a forgivable loan of up to $8,000 to cover the cost of the recommended home improvements. The most common energy efficiency improvements are attic insulation and air-sealing (blocking areas where heated or cooled air leaves the house).</p>
<p class="alignnone"><a href="http://www.elevateenergy.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/micro-market-recovery-program-assessment-300x240.png" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.elevateenergy.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/micro-market-recovery-program-assessment-300x240.png?width=300" width="300" class="align-left"/></a>“This program represents the core of our mission,” said Elevate Energy CEO Anne Evens. “It delivers energy efficiency and water saving upgrades to families who are paying a large percentage of their income on housing and utilities. Elevate MMRP helps families put that money toward their future, like paying off a mortgage or saving for college.”</p>
<p></p>Help Home Energy Magazine Go Digitaltag:homeenergypros.lbl.gov,2017-05-30:6069565:BlogPost:2178022017-05-30T20:16:12.000ZHome Energy Magazinehttp://homeenergypros.lbl.gov/profile/HomeEnergyMagazine
<p>This morning we launched an <a href="https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/help-home-energy-magazine-go-digital/x/16714085#/" target="_blank">Indiegogo campaign</a> to help us reach our goal of becoming a digital-only magazine. Anything you can donate to our nonprofit magazine is greatly appreciated!</p>
<p>More information below.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Thousands of homes waste energy every day. Energy is wasted because there are small cracks and leaks in walls, doors, windows, and ceilings, which make…</p>
<p>This morning we launched an <a href="https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/help-home-energy-magazine-go-digital/x/16714085#/" target="_blank">Indiegogo campaign</a> to help us reach our goal of becoming a digital-only magazine. Anything you can donate to our nonprofit magazine is greatly appreciated!</p>
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<p>Thousands of homes waste energy every day. Energy is wasted because there are small cracks and leaks in walls, doors, windows, and ceilings, which make a home too hot or too cold for its occupants. In response, homeowners and renters turn up their air conditioners and heaters. Who can blame them? We all want to live in comfortable homes. By doing this, however, they are also heating or cooling the air that’s leaving their home.</p>
<p>And it’s a big problem:</p>
<ul>
<li>American homes and businesses collectively pay for $130 billion worth of <u>wasted</u> energy.</li>
<li>Homes account for about one-fifth of the United States’ total annual energy demand.</li>
<li>Heating and cooling the interior of our homes consumes the largest portion of residential energy (approximately 44%).</li>
</ul>
<p>Wasting energy at home increases utility bills, strains the power grid, and contributes to CO<sub>2</sub> emissions.</p>
<p>It doesn’t have to be this way! If all of these homes were insulated and air sealed properly, we wouldn’t waste as much energy, and we could save billions of dollars.</p>
<p>That’s why <a href="http://homeenergy.org/" rel="noopener nofollow"><em>Home Energy</em> magazine</a> exists.</p>
<h3>Why<em> Home Energy </em>Matters</h3>
<p>We’re a nonprofit magazine dedicated to spreading factual and objective information on green, efficient home building and renovation. In this way, we help home energy auditors, contractors, and builders (the people who fix the leaks/holes mentioned above) create homes that are energy-efficient, comfortable, healthy, and affordable.</p>
<p>In the current political climate of government shutting down science, we feel strongly that we are an independent, trustworthy voice for the science of home energy use. Our voice is needed now more than ever.</p>
<h3>The Future</h3>
<p>After 30+ years of print publishing, our magazine is facing the same problem as all print media in a digital world. We’d like to keep providing great content to our readership, and to reach new, younger subscribers. We’ll do that by shifting away from printing the magazine, upgrading our website, and becoming a digital publication. Naturally, all of this requires funding.</p>
<h3>Where Will Your Money Go?</h3>
<p>We need $100,000 to make all of this happen. When you donate, your money goes toward:</p>
<ul>
<li>Upgrading our website so that it’s responsive to all mobile devices</li>
<li>Marketing and promotion of our new format</li>
<li>Authors who create quality content for our readership</li>
<li>Our staff who will work with new vendors, create new publication schedules, and manage day-to-day operations</li>
<li>Putting <em>Home Energy </em>on a sound financial foundation for the future </li>
</ul>
<h3>Donate</h3>
<p>If you’ve ever read our magazine and found it useful, please donate.</p>
<p>If you love our planet, please donate.</p>
<p>If you want to help a small nonprofit business, please donate. (Bonus: <em>Home Energy</em> magazine is a 501(c)(3) registered nonprofit. That means all donations made to our cause are tax-deductible.)</p>
<p>Every dollar counts, and we truly appreciate anything you can give. That being said, here’s some motivation to give us a little more:</p>
<ul>
<li>If you give $50 or more, you’ll get a free copy of our book, <a href="https://homeenergy.org/store/no-regrets-remodeling" rel="noopener nofollow"><em>No Regrets Remodeling, 2<sup>nd</sup> Edition</em></a></li>
<li>If you give $1,000 or more, you’ll get a free subscription to our magazine for life</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/help-home-energy-magazine-go-digital/x/16714085#/" target="_blank">Donate today</a>!</p>
<p></p>First-Ever Comprehensive National Standard Practice Manual is Updated Guidebook for Energy Efficiency Cost-Benefit Analysistag:homeenergypros.lbl.gov,2017-05-23:6069565:BlogPost:2172942017-05-23T16:30:25.000ZHome Energy Magazinehttp://homeenergypros.lbl.gov/profile/HomeEnergyMagazine
<p><a href="http://homeenergy.org/images/blog/1005.jpg" target="_blank"><img class="align-left" src="http://homeenergy.org/images/blog/1005.jpg"></img></a> The first-ever comprehensive national guide for utility-funded energy efficiency programs is now available to help utilities, regulators and other interested stakeholders make the best possible energy efficiency decisions for their jurisdictions.</p>
<p>The National Standard Practice Manual (NSPM) presents a comprehensive framework and key principles for costeffectiveness assessment of energy efficiency…</p>
<p><a href="http://homeenergy.org/images/blog/1005.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://homeenergy.org/images/blog/1005.jpg" class="align-left"/></a>The first-ever comprehensive national guide for utility-funded energy efficiency programs is now available to help utilities, regulators and other interested stakeholders make the best possible energy efficiency decisions for their jurisdictions.</p>
<p>The National Standard Practice Manual (NSPM) presents a comprehensive framework and key principles for costeffectiveness assessment of energy efficiency resources, with broader applicability to other energy and distributed resources. It is an updated decision-making tool that applies to electric and gas utilities and jurisdictions where energy efficiency programs are funded by – and implemented on behalf of – electric or gas utility customers.</p>
<p>The NSPM was developed via the National Efficiency Screening Project (NESP), a broad group of national organizations and experts originally coordinated by the Home Performance Coalition and currently coordinated by the nonprofit E4TheFuture.</p>
<p>“The National Standard Practice Manual provides neutral and objective guidance that incorporates lessons learned across the country over the past 20 years,” said Steve Cowell, president of E4TheFuture. “It responds to current needs and addresses relevant policies and goals of each jurisdiction undertaking efficiency investments.”</p>
<h3>Why this new manual?</h3>
<p>In the 1980s, California Public Utilities Commission staff developed the California Standard Practice Manual (CaSPM) to guide investor-owned utilities in assessing the cost-effectiveness of ratepayer-funded energy efficiency investments. Last updated in 2001, the CaSPM has served as the prevailing guidance. But commonly used tests in the CaSPM have been applied inconsistently. Further, as the energy industry evolves, jurisdictions are looking to broaden their cost-effectiveness frameworks to consider integrated distributed energy resources. The NSPM is a first step to helping jurisdictions evolve their practices.</p>
<p>“The new NSPM is a robust and updated tool,” Cowell said. “It is based on sound economic principles and a clear and transparent framework, and it provides guidance on foundational cost-effectiveness analysis topics.”</p>
<p>Developed by subject experts, with input from a review committee representing a broad range of stakeholders, the NSPM builds and expands upon the decades-old CaSPM with current experience and best practices. The new manual adds:</p>
<ul>
<li>Universal Principles for cost-effectiveness assessments;</li>
<li>A step-by-step Resource Value Framework for jurisdictions to develop their primary costeffectiveness test – the Resource Value Test – which addresses the evolving utility system, the deployment of distributed energy resources, and a range of applicable policy goals and issues that affect cost-effectiveness testing; and</li>
<li>Foundational information on the inputs and considerations associated with selecting the appropriate costs and benefits to include in a cost-effectiveness test, accounting for applicable hard-to-monetize costs and benefits, and featuring guidance on a wide range of fundamental aspects of cost-effectiveness analyses.</li>
</ul>
<p>Highlights of the NSPM include:</p>
<ol>
<li>The foundational principle that a jurisdiction should articulate applicable policy goals when developing its primary cost-effectiveness test;</li>
<li>A framework for a jurisdiction to develop its own specific test(s) rather than using a set of pre-defined, prescriptive tests;</li>
<li>Information on efficiency resource costs and benefits, and how to treat relevant impacts when developing a cost-effectiveness test;</li>
<li>Guidance on how to account for hard-to-quantify costs and benefits; and</li>
<li>Suggested ways to develop inputs for cost-effectiveness tests, e.g., discount rates, early replacement of measures, free-riders, and spillover.</li>
</ol>
<p>The NSPM describes the principles, concepts, and methodologies for comprehensive and balanced assessment of the cost-effectiveness of energy efficiency resources. It can help parties identify the full range of efficiency resources whose benefits exceed their costs. Decision-makers can then more easily decide which resources to acquire to meet specific objectives, standards, or targets.</p>
<p>The NESP recognizes the authors and review committee for developing and informing this important and timely guidance document. See <a href="https://nationalefficiencyscreening.org/" target="_blank">https://nationalefficiencyscreening.org</a>/ to download the NSPM and other supporting materials.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>About the National Efficiency Screening Project</strong>: The NESP joins organizations and individuals who seek to improve how utility customer-funded electricity and natural gas energy efficiency resources are screened for cost-effectiveness. NESP is a stakeholder organization open to all interested parties willing to work collaboratively toward better cost-effectiveness testing, which will help enable decision-makers to determine which efficiency resources are in the public interest and what level of investment in these resources is appropriate.</p>
<p><strong>About E4TheFuture:</strong> E4TheFuture is a 501c3 nonprofit organization which collaborates with stakeholders to provide expert policy solutions, education, and advocacy to advance clean energy and energy efficiency solutions on the federal, state and local level.</p>Does Wasting Home Heating Make You See (Infra)red?tag:homeenergypros.lbl.gov,2017-05-23:6069565:BlogPost:2176052017-05-23T14:30:00.000ZKelly Vaughnhttp://homeenergypros.lbl.gov/profile/KellyVaughn
<p><a href="https://d231jw5ce53gcq.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/iStock-593339720.jpg" target="_blank"><img class="align-full" src="https://d231jw5ce53gcq.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/iStock-593339720-1024x683.jpg?width=600" width="600"></img></a> <a href="http://vancouver.ca/green-vancouver/thermal-imaging.aspx"></a></p>
<p>by <a href="https://rmi.org/staff/jacob-corvidae/" target="_blank">Jacob Corvidae</a>, Rocky Mountain Institute</p>
<p><a href="http://vancouver.ca/green-vancouver/thermal-imaging.aspx">Have you ever wanted x-ray vision, or to see the hidden features of your home? The City of Vancouver has…</a></p>
<p><a href="https://d231jw5ce53gcq.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/iStock-593339720.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="https://d231jw5ce53gcq.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/iStock-593339720-1024x683.jpg?width=600" class="align-full" width="600"/></a><a href="http://vancouver.ca/green-vancouver/thermal-imaging.aspx"></a></p>
<p>by <a href="https://rmi.org/staff/jacob-corvidae/" target="_blank">Jacob Corvidae</a>, Rocky Mountain Institute</p>
<p><a href="http://vancouver.ca/green-vancouver/thermal-imaging.aspx">Have you ever wanted x-ray vision, or to see the hidden features of your home? The City of Vancouver has launched a </a><a href="http://vancouver.ca/green-vancouver/thermal-imaging.aspx">new effort to make energy use mo</a><a href="http://vancouver.ca/green-vancouver/thermal-imaging.aspx">re visible</a> to its residents, complete with rainbow-colored images of their homes that show details invisible to the naked eye. Using thermal imaging to show heat loss in roughly 15,000 homes in five neighborhoods, Vancouver aims to help residents uncover wasted energy. How can making invisible aspects of a home visible drive energy savings and economic development?</p>
<p>The allure of invisibility has been with us for a long time. <a href="http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/as-long-as-books-have-existed-invisibility-has-been-a-dream-17215114/">Stories ancient and modern</a> have explored the idea, including <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/harry-potter/11882434/JK-Rowling-explains-how-Harry-Potter-got-his-Invisibility-Cloak.html">Harry Potter’s cloak</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfQRl3Y9NQ0">James Bond’s invisible car</a>, and of course Frodo’s ring. But some things are already invisible in ways that create real problems. Look at the homes in the picture below. Which one is energy efficient? Homeowners want energy efficient homes, but they can’t easily tell the difference. The invisibility of energy use creates transparency problems in the market, which are <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/iain-campbell/a-leap-ahead-for-homes-do_b_13748340.html">starting to be addressed</a> in a variety of ways.</p>
<p></p>
<h3>Infrared Thermography</h3>
<p>Vancouver’s program is based on infrared thermography (IRT) of each of the 15,000 homes. IRT is a way of taking pictures that captures the heat emitted from objects. This creates an image of temperatures, warm and cold, instead of the colors and shadows that we see with our naked eyes or in standard photography. This is great way to find areas of heat loss in a home, essentially providing a guide to the parts of a home that cause discomfort and require the furnace, boiler or air conditioning to work harder and consume more energy to meet temperature demands. Thermography can also reveal materials with water damage, since those hold heat differently than dry materials.</p>
<p>Thermographic images are also recognizable for being colorful and distinct. By revealing invisible heat losses and allowing a new way of seeing one’s home, these images have the allure of a new technology. And although thermographic images have been around for some time, IRT cameras are becoming more common and inexpensive. Portable versions made to be a smart phone accessory retail for $250, compared with the $14,000 price that professionals had to pay only 10 years ago. Now a collection of 10 neighbors could purchase one to share for only $25 each. But to get the most out of it, they would need to learn how to use it well. Professional thermographers know sophisticated techniques and understand the limitations of the technology. One limitation of IRT for home assessment is that it requires at least a 30-degree difference between indoor and outdoor temperatures to work best. Without such a difference, the heat loss through the structure may not be apparent. This is why Vancouver’s pilot is being run over the winter.</p>
<p><a href="https://d231jw5ce53gcq.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/iStock-482180010.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="https://d231jw5ce53gcq.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/iStock-482180010-1024x768.jpg?width=600" class="align-full" width="600"/></a></p>
<p>Programs like Vancouver’s are further limited by only capturing images of the homes’ front and side, which won’t reveal heat loss from other places in the homes. This approach is a result of using car-mounted cameras to scan entire neighborhoods, but it may produce false negatives. For example, a scanned home may appear to have no heat loss if heat was primarily leaking from the back of the building.</p>
<p>The primary purpose of the pilot is to test a variety of approaches, including comparing letters to homeowners with IRT images and without, to see if they motivate more residents to take action. According to Chris Higgins, Green Building Planner with the City of Vancouver, they are testing a variety of approaches in the pilot and will have public results available in spring of 2018.</p>
<h3>The Economics</h3>
<p>Vancouver’s pilot program will cost approximately <a href="http://bc.ctvnews.ca/vancouver-using-heat-vision-camera-to-id-poorly-insulated-homes-1.3229204">$6 per home</a>. The question is, how much will it drive energy-upgrade action among those homeowners? Essess, the company delivering the program for Vancouver, has performance results from similar programs in the past. According to a 2015 Navigant study, a similar program resulted in 3.8 percent of households responding to a mailer containing a thermographic image of their home. This response rate was 2-4 times greater than the usual response rates other utility programs.</p>
<p>If we assume 2 percent of homeowners, or roughly half of those who respond, take action and are so converted into project leads, then the Vancouver program works out to have a cost of roughly $300 per project lead. A cost of $300 per lead is <a href="https://www.improveit360.com/assets/How-Top-Home-Improvement-Pros-Boost-their-Bottom-Line.pdf">common for the home improvement industry</a>, or maybe even a <a href="https://www.liontreegroup.com/cpl/average-cost-per-lead-benchmarks-numbers-know/">little low</a>. If those homeowners take actions that work out to an average of $1,000 in activity on each home, either by hiring contractors or by spending equivalent sums to do it themselves, then this campaign would generate roughly $300,000 in economic activity—a three-to-one multiplier for the program costs. Higgins says that if the pilot results in a $300 cost to get residents to take action, they’d consider that a success.</p>
<h3>What this means for the industry</h3>
<p>Research has shown that a direct mail campaign using a house list (an internal mailing list for existing customers) has an average response rate of 3.7 percent. Given that the city has an existing relationship with its residents, the 3.7 percent response rate for “existing customers” should be a fair comparison baseline for IRT-enhanced direct mail. The average response rate research comes from a <a href="https://www.iwco.com/blog/2015/04/14/dma-response-rate-report-and-direct-mail/">2015 report from the Data &amp; Marketing Association</a>, chosen since the Navigant study referenced above was also from 2015. Since regular direct mail for house lists had a nearly identical response rate to the IRT-enhanced outreach in 2015, it will be useful for the industry to see Vancouver’s pilot results with a direct control group.</p>
<p>If the response rates remain the same, this may imply that the primary benefit of thermography programs is in the personalized approach they deliver for each home, more than the thermography itself. Whether the specific analysis or the colorful pictures drive more residents to take action remains to be seen. Essess has been working on improving how they deliver their services, and the Navigant study is several years old. Moreover, having cities lead efforts like Vancouver’s may produce very different results than having utilities lead such efforts, given that residents’ trust relationships can be very different with city governments and utilities.</p>
<p>Measuring the success of the Vancouver program should provide important insights to what this approach can deliver.</p>
<p>The other question is not just whether thermography programs can reach more homes, but whether they can reach different homes. Does the highly visual image, with its new-technology glamour, reach a different audience than traditional efficiency marketing? If so, then the number of homes reached could remain comparable to other programs but still represent a major breakthrough.</p>
<p>The neighborhood sweep approach for this program brings an additional component to efficiency marketing: social norms and peer pressure. By focusing on an entire neighborhood at a time and publicly sharing that approach (though not publicly sharing information about individual homes), the program has a greater chance of building on word of mouth and <a href="http://blog.rmi.org/blog_2016_11_02_how_to_use_peer_diffusion_to_make_better_homes_a_must_have">social norms for the neighborhood</a>. Neighborhood thermography could support growth of efficiency efforts similar to that produced by the <a href="http://blog.rmi.org/blog_2016_08_09_Solar_Contagion_and_Lessons_for_Other_Energy_Upgrades">solar contagion</a> effect. Also, as <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/iain-campbell/a-leap-ahead-for-homes-do_b_13748340.html">real estate listings</a> continue to capture more information about homes and home energy, thermal imaging could provide a new aspect of information about neighborhoods and individual homes.</p>
<p>To improve the social norm impact of thermal imaging programs, we would recommend adding an image of a high performing home as a point of comparison. This would help define what’s possible and highlight the deficiencies in the current home. Ideally, this high performing home image could be drawn from the same neighborhood. This would require getting the high performing home owner’s permission of course, but would create an opportunity to highlight champions in the neighborhood and engage the early adopters who may not have much interest in the program otherwise.</p>
<p>Home energy efficiency will never have a silver bullet that engages all residents. Rather, moving the market requires what energy mavens have long called “silver buckshot,” a variety of approaches that solve a variety of problems. Thermography-based programs may help reach more households, or different households, by providing a personalized, visually striking analysis of people’s homes.</p>
<p><em><br/> Images courtesy of <a href="http://istockphoto.com/">iStock</a>.</em></p>New Video and Course on Solar PV in Real Estatetag:homeenergypros.lbl.gov,2017-05-16:6069565:BlogPost:2173682017-05-16T18:31:27.000ZAmber Vignierihttp://homeenergypros.lbl.gov/profile/AmberVignieri
<p><span>Real estate professionals who understand the basics of solar and know how to market the benefits of an installation will have a market edge. For most real estate agents and appraisers, assessing the value of solar is a new frontier. </span><a href="http://www.elevateenergy.org/sunshot-award-to-value-home-solar-systems/" target="_blank">With funding from the U.S. Department of Energy</a><span>, Elevate Energy is creating two online Continuing Education courses. Both classes will be…</span></p>
<p><span>Real estate professionals who understand the basics of solar and know how to market the benefits of an installation will have a market edge. For most real estate agents and appraisers, assessing the value of solar is a new frontier. </span><a href="http://www.elevateenergy.org/sunshot-award-to-value-home-solar-systems/" target="_blank">With funding from the U.S. Department of Energy</a><span>, Elevate Energy is creating two online Continuing Education courses. Both classes will be available in June 2017.</span></p>
<ul>
<li>For Real Estate Agents:<em> Selling the Sun: Establishing Value for Solar PV Homes</em>. <a href="http://www.elevateenergy.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/Feature-Sheet_Selling-the-Sun_April-2017.pdf" target="_blank">Read more about the class.</a></li>
<li>For Appraisers: <em> Valuing Residential Solar Photovoltaic Systems for Appraisers. </em><a href="http://www.elevateenergy.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/1116-EE-solar-feature-sheet-appraiser-v2-2.pdf" target="_blank">Read more about the class.</a></li>
</ul>
<p>Check out an excerpt from the class in our new video!</p>
<p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AylWGaU6eVE?wmode=opaque" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</p>What Happen to Energy Upgrade California?tag:homeenergypros.lbl.gov,2017-05-15:6069565:BlogPost:2173632017-05-15T18:43:16.000ZWill johnsonhttp://homeenergypros.lbl.gov/profile/Willjohnson
<p>Energy Upgrade California offers rebates up to $6,500.00 in SDGE territory. Up to $4,500 in other territories. Unfortunately they don't/won't promote it. I can't get straight candid answers from the contractors supporting the program. Only that there has been cutbacks. </p>
<p></p>
<p>The program has struggled since the beginning. Costly overhead only returns cents on the dollar to the homeowner. From the contractors perspective bureaucratic administration has discouraged…</p>
<p>Energy Upgrade California offers rebates up to $6,500.00 in SDGE territory. Up to $4,500 in other territories. Unfortunately they don't/won't promote it. I can't get straight candid answers from the contractors supporting the program. Only that there has been cutbacks. </p>
<p></p>
<p>The program has struggled since the beginning. Costly overhead only returns cents on the dollar to the homeowner. From the contractors perspective bureaucratic administration has discouraged participation. </p>
<p></p>
<p>They (utilities) stopped accepting any new contractors into the program, Website is hamstrung to a couple of pages with no info on the Home Upgrade or Advance path rebates.</p>
<p></p>
<p>The only silver lining has been a boom for the HVAC industry. I don't know any GC that has stayed with the program as a home performance contractor.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Homeowners will never find these rebates.</p>Seeking Innovation in Roofing Systemstag:homeenergypros.lbl.gov,2017-05-12:6069565:BlogPost:2171732017-05-12T16:47:01.000ZSarah OConnellhttp://homeenergypros.lbl.gov/profile/SarahOConnell452
<p>Oak Ridge National Lab has partnered with GAF to host a technology challenge on roofing systems. The challenge is part of the online crowdsourcing site, JUMP, and aims to identify innovation solutions for ensuring energy efficient and durable low-slope roofing systems employing concrete decks.</p>
<p>The National Roofing Contractors Association’s 2014-2015 Market Survey indicates that concrete decks represent about 14 percent of the new and retrofit low-slope construction market. In recent…</p>
<p>Oak Ridge National Lab has partnered with GAF to host a technology challenge on roofing systems. The challenge is part of the online crowdsourcing site, JUMP, and aims to identify innovation solutions for ensuring energy efficient and durable low-slope roofing systems employing concrete decks.</p>
<p>The National Roofing Contractors Association’s 2014-2015 Market Survey indicates that concrete decks represent about 14 percent of the new and retrofit low-slope construction market. In recent years, the roofing industry has become increasingly aware of the problems caused by moisture in concrete roof decks that migrates into the roofing system. Aside from leakage to the interior, moisture in roofing systems can have numerous negative consequences, including reduced thermal resistance of insulation and loss of strength of the insulation, cover board, adhesive, or fasteners.</p>
<p>The challenge is to develop new materials or installation methods that can be employed to modify a typical roofing system with a concrete deck so that the likelihood of having moisture related problems is significantly reduced. Such an innovation can eliminate the energy penalties associated with high material moisture contents. The winner would receive $10K in cash sponsored by GAF and up to $20K in-kind support from ORNL technical scientist.</p>
<p>Learn more about this <a href="https://jump.ideascale.com/a/ideas/top/campaign-filter/byids/campaigns/20009">challenge</a> and share your ideas. Idea will be accepted through Sunday, August 27, 2017.</p>Congratulations to the 2017 Race to Zero Winners!tag:homeenergypros.lbl.gov,2017-05-09:6069565:BlogPost:2170762017-05-09T13:56:15.000ZHome Energy Magazinehttp://homeenergypros.lbl.gov/profile/HomeEnergyMagazine
<p><a href="http://homeenergy.org/images/blog/999.jpg" target="_blank"><img class="align-left" src="http://homeenergy.org/images/blog/999.jpg"></img></a> The Ryerson University and University of Toronto team topped the …</p>
<p><a href="http://homeenergy.org/images/blog/999.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://homeenergy.org/images/blog/999.jpg" class="align-left"/></a>The Ryerson University and University of Toronto team topped the <a href="http://links.govdelivery.com/track?type=click&amp;enid=ZWFzPTEmbWFpbGluZ2lkPTIwMTcwNTA0LjczMDEwMjExJm1lc3NhZ2VpZD1NREItUFJELUJVTC0yMDE3MDUwNC43MzAxMDIxMSZkYXRhYmFzZWlkPTEwMDEmc2VyaWFsPTE3ODYxMzY3JmVtYWlsaWQ9aGVhdGhlckBjb25mbHVlbmNlYy5jb20mdXNlcmlkPWhlYXRoZXJAY29uZmx1ZW5jZWMuY29tJmZsPSZleHRyYT1NdWx0aXZhcmlhdGVJZD0mJiY=&amp;&amp;&amp;103&amp;&amp;&amp;http://energy.gov/eere/buildings/us-department-energy-race-zero-student-design-competition" target="_blank">2017 U.S. Department of Energy Race to Zero Student Design Competition</a>. They were the grand winners of the event, which was held April 22-23, 2017, at the <a href="http://links.govdelivery.com/track?type=click&amp;enid=ZWFzPTEmbWFpbGluZ2lkPTIwMTcwNTA0LjczMDEwMjExJm1lc3NhZ2VpZD1NREItUFJELUJVTC0yMDE3MDUwNC43MzAxMDIxMSZkYXRhYmFzZWlkPTEwMDEmc2VyaWFsPTE3ODYxMzY3JmVtYWlsaWQ9aGVhdGhlckBjb25mbHVlbmNlYy5jb20mdXNlcmlkPWhlYXRoZXJAY29uZmx1ZW5jZWMuY29tJmZsPSZleHRyYT1NdWx0aXZhcmlhdGVJZD0mJiY=&amp;&amp;&amp;104&amp;&amp;&amp;http://www.nrel.gov" target="_blank">National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)</a> in Golden, Colorado. </p>
<p>Read the <a href="http://links.govdelivery.com/track?type=click&amp;enid=ZWFzPTEmbWFpbGluZ2lkPTIwMTcwNTA0LjczMDEwMjExJm1lc3NhZ2VpZD1NREItUFJELUJVTC0yMDE3MDUwNC43MzAxMDIxMSZkYXRhYmFzZWlkPTEwMDEmc2VyaWFsPTE3ODYxMzY3JmVtYWlsaWQ9aGVhdGhlckBjb25mbHVlbmNlYy5jb20mdXNlcmlkPWhlYXRoZXJAY29uZmx1ZW5jZWMuY29tJmZsPSZleHRyYT1NdWx0aXZhcmlhdGVJZD0mJiY=&amp;&amp;&amp;105&amp;&amp;&amp;https://energy.gov/eere/articles/ryerson-university-and-university-toronto-team-tops-race-zero-student-design" target="_blank">complete announcement</a>. Below are the top winners in each contest: </p>
<p><strong>Suburban Single-Family Housing Contest</strong></p>
<table width="90%">
<tbody><tr><td><ul>
<li>First place: Ball State University—Team Woodridge, Muncie, Indiana</li>
<li>Second place: Appalachian State University— Appalachian [In]sight, Boone, North Carolina</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Urban Single-Family Housing Contest</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>First place: CEPT University—Team KILL BILL, Ahmedabad, India</li>
<li>Second place: Illinois Institute of Technology—B.R.O.N.Z.E., Chicago, Illinois</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Attached Housing Contest</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>First place: Ryerson University and University of Toronto—Future Cities Collective, Toronto, Ontario, Canada</li>
<li>Second place: University of Minnesota Twin Cities—OptiMN, Minneapolis, Minnesota</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Small Multifamily Housing Contest</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>First place: Georgia Institute of Technology—Team AtoZ, Atlanta, Georgia</li>
<li>Second place: Miami University—Race to Zero MiamiOH, Oxford, Ohio</li>
</ul>
<p>Thirty-nine finalist teams represented 33 collegiate institutions from four countries. Six collegiate institutions had multiple teams, and two teams consisted of multiple collegiate institutions.</p>
<p>The finalist collegiate institutions were:</p>
<ul>
<li>Appalachian State University</li>
<li>Ball State University</li>
<li>CEPT University</li>
<li>Colorado School of Mines</li>
<li>Georgia Institute of Technology</li>
<li>Hope College</li>
<li>Humboldt State University</li>
<li>Illinois Institute of Technology</li>
<li>Illinois State University</li>
<li>Louisiana State University</li>
<li>Miami University</li>
<li>Northeastern University</li>
<li>The Pennsylvania State University</li>
<li>Prairie View A&amp;M University</li>
<li>Purdue University</li>
<li>Ryerson University</li>
<li>Syracuse University</li>
<li>Universidade Federal do Paraná</li>
<li>University of Colorado Boulder</li>
<li>University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign</li>
<li>University of Minnesota Twin Cities</li>
<li>University of New Haven</li>
<li>The University of North Carolina at Charlotte</li>
<li>University of North Texas</li>
<li>University of Portland</li>
<li>University of Toronto</li>
<li>The University of Vermont</li>
<li>University of Wisconsin-Madison</li>
<li>University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee</li>
<li>Vanderbilt University</li>
<li>Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University</li>
<li>Washington University in St. Louis</li>
<li>Weber State University.</li>
</ul>
<p>The competition challenges collegiate teams to apply sound building science principles to create cost-effective, market-ready designs that meet the <a href="http://links.govdelivery.com/track?type=click&amp;enid=ZWFzPTEmbWFpbGluZ2lkPTIwMTcwNTA0LjczMDEwMjExJm1lc3NhZ2VpZD1NREItUFJELUJVTC0yMDE3MDUwNC43MzAxMDIxMSZkYXRhYmFzZWlkPTEwMDEmc2VyaWFsPTE3ODYxMzY3JmVtYWlsaWQ9aGVhdGhlckBjb25mbHVlbmNlYy5jb20mdXNlcmlkPWhlYXRoZXJAY29uZmx1ZW5jZWMuY29tJmZsPSZleHRyYT1NdWx0aXZhcmlhdGVJZD0mJiY=&amp;&amp;&amp;106&amp;&amp;&amp;http://energy.gov/eere/buildings/zero-energy-ready-home" target="_blank">DOE Zero Energy Ready Homes Program</a> requirements.</p>
<p>As part of the <a href="http://links.govdelivery.com/track?type=click&amp;enid=ZWFzPTEmbWFpbGluZ2lkPTIwMTcwNTA0LjczMDEwMjExJm1lc3NhZ2VpZD1NREItUFJELUJVTC0yMDE3MDUwNC43MzAxMDIxMSZkYXRhYmFzZWlkPTEwMDEmc2VyaWFsPTE3ODYxMzY3JmVtYWlsaWQ9aGVhdGhlckBjb25mbHVlbmNlYy5jb20mdXNlcmlkPWhlYXRoZXJAY29uZmx1ZW5jZWMuY29tJmZsPSZleHRyYT1NdWx0aXZhcmlhdGVJZD0mJiY=&amp;&amp;&amp;107&amp;&amp;&amp;http://energy.gov/eere/buildings/building-america-bringing-building-innovations-market" target="_blank">DOE Building America Program</a>, the Race to Zero is designed to provide students with:</p>
<ul>
<li>An opportunity to participate in hands-on building science analysis, including an in-depth investigation of specific interactions and integration of building design</li>
<li>Access to unique building science training from recognized experts and educators</li>
<li>Experience working on a multidisciplinary team, which is vital to professional work</li>
<li>Partnerships and networking with industry professionals and companies</li>
<li>Interactions with national thought leaders about zero energy residential buildings and future housing innovations</li>
<li>A tour of award-winning high-performance buildings at NREL.</li>
</ul>
<p></p>
<p>- Stacy Hunt </p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>Connecting the Dots: Real Estate and Home Performancetag:homeenergypros.lbl.gov,2017-05-09:6069565:BlogPost:2172272017-05-09T13:50:37.000ZHome Energy Magazinehttp://homeenergypros.lbl.gov/profile/HomeEnergyMagazine
<p><a href="http://homeenergy.org/images/blog/997.jpg" target="_blank"><img class="align-left" src="http://homeenergy.org/images/blog/997.jpg"></img></a> A new type of conversation between REALTORS® and their clients is changing the real estate industry before our eyes. As homebuyers browse Zillow listings and spend their Sundays visiting open houses, their agents are educating them to evaluate not just curb appeal and square footage, but also utility bill costs, comfort, and health. And homebuyers are listening.</p>
<p>In fact, 56 percent of REALTORS® say that…</p>
<p><a href="http://homeenergy.org/images/blog/997.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://homeenergy.org/images/blog/997.jpg" class="align-left"/></a>A new type of conversation between REALTORS® and their clients is changing the real estate industry before our eyes. As homebuyers browse Zillow listings and spend their Sundays visiting open houses, their agents are educating them to evaluate not just curb appeal and square footage, but also utility bill costs, comfort, and health. And homebuyers are listening.</p>
<p>In fact, 56 percent of REALTORS® say that their clients are at least somewhat interested in sustainability practices, and 61 percent of REALTORS® say they are comfortable answering clients’ questions about home performance. That’s from the <a href="https://www.nar.realtor/reports/realtors-and-sustainability-2017" target="_blank">REALTORS® and Sustainability 2017 Report</a>, published in April by the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR). The report surveyed REALTORS® nationwide and found that professionals recognize that their industry is changing: Consumer demand is growing quickly for greener, healthier, and more resource and energy efficient homes, and being versed in green building fundamentals and energy efficiency upgrades is essential to being a successful agent.</p>
<p>REALTORS® don’t need to get BPI certifications, but they do need training to learn how to recognize smart opportunities. For example, that a green-certified home (GreenPoint Rated, LEED, etc.) or a home with low utility bills is likely to sell faster and sell for more—and that these features should be played up in a listing. Or that even middle-income buyers can take a fixer-upper with no insulation and an ancient furnace and transform it into a green performer, leveraging utility rebate programs and smart financing like FHA’s Energy Efficient Mortgage or Fannie Mae’s Homestyle Energy Loan. The bottom line: Today’s real estate pros need to be able to speak intelligently about the importance of energy efficiency and home performance, and how it affects the true cost of home ownership, comfort, health, ROI and resale value.</p>
<p>NAR recognizes this reality and that’s why the Sustainability 2017 Report is the first of what will be an annual benchmarking survey of its national membership. The annual survey will track a broad range of topics: agents’ insights into client needs, their ability to help clients with energy efficiency and sustainability, and the percentage of agents who have helped clients buy or sell a “green” property. The fact that in 2017 more than half of REALTORS® nationwide claim their clients have an interest in a greener home and community shows how sustainability has gone mainstream. What lags behind is the number of high-performance homes they encounter: In 2017, only 27 percent of agents said they were involved in one to five transactions with a property that had bona fide green features, a modest number with room for growth.</p>
<p>But in California the green real estate trend is on a fast track. Over the past five years, the nonprofit <a href="https://www.builditgreen.org/" target="_blank">Build It Green</a> has trained more than 1,200 California real estate professionals and helped them earn the NAR Green Designation certification. This two-day training teaches them everything from green building fundamentals to the landscape of energy rebates and financing, to using their green knowledge to market themselves and win new clients.</p>
<p>A crucial next step for these green-certified agents is to develop relationships with the right contractors. Agents are the trusted advisors to their homebuyer and seller clients. They connect them to a network of home professionals, from lenders and home inspectors to electricians and plumbers. Today, an agent’s network needs to include raters, green lenders, and home performance and HVAC contractors.</p>
<p>REALTORS® and contractors need to recognize that point of sale is an incredible opportunity to complete energy upgrades and bring a new level of investment in residential energy efficiency. Industry thought leaders like the nonprofits <a href="http://www.elevateenergy.org/" target="_blank">Elevate Energy</a> and Build It Green lay out a vision for a “virtuous cycle” of green real estate investment. The cycle starts as a conversation between REALTOR and client, which leads to a referral to a contractor and then a whole-house upgrade. When that project is documented with a Home Energy Score or another score or green label, that data can be reflected in an MLS listing when the house eventually goes up for sale again. Consumer demand for an energy-saving home will fetch a higher selling price, and eventually more homeowners and home sellers will recognize the ROI of energy efficiency, driving further investments in energy upgrades.</p>
<p>As the NAR Sustainability Report makes clear, this virtuous cycle is starting to spin.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>John Shipman</strong><em> (pictured above) is Senior Director of Real Estate Services at </em><a href="https://www.builditgreen.org/"><em>Build It Green</em></a><em>. He is a licensed REALTOR® and sustainability educator who has trained more than 1,000 real estate professionals in green real estate and green building fundamentals. In 2014, the National Association of REALTORS® awarded him with its national Evergreen Award and named him its NAR Green Instructor of the Year.</em></p>
<p><em>This blog originally appeared on <a href="http://homeenergy.org/show/blog/id/997/nav/blog" target="_blank">www.homeenergy.org</a>. </em></p>Attic Fans and CAZ Pressure - Testing Fun!tag:homeenergypros.lbl.gov,2017-05-08:6069565:BlogPost:2173302017-05-08T20:00:00.000ZA. Tamasin Sternerhttp://homeenergypros.lbl.gov/profile/ATamasinSterner
<p><span class="font-size-3" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://api.ning.com:80/files/xvpuRoKto2h3YPgLbR11z7zH42yGSlAF6n6LSIZaE3U7PvoZlzXl7Ls4nv8L4eNYtaSrBThj3rRYGOls71XJ8pxL3rtJ2fxU/ScreenShot20170510at9.04.40AM.png" target="_self"><img class="align-full" src="http://api.ning.com:80/files/xvpuRoKto2h3YPgLbR11z7zH42yGSlAF6n6LSIZaE3U7PvoZlzXl7Ls4nv8L4eNYtaSrBThj3rRYGOls71XJ8pxL3rtJ2fxU/ScreenShot20170510at9.04.40AM.png" width="590"></img></a></span></p>
<p>Consider turning attic fans on when checking for the worst case CAZ depressurization. The fan may be changing the pressure dynamics of the home in dangerous ways.…</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://api.ning.com:80/files/xvpuRoKto2h3YPgLbR11z7zH42yGSlAF6n6LSIZaE3U7PvoZlzXl7Ls4nv8L4eNYtaSrBThj3rRYGOls71XJ8pxL3rtJ2fxU/ScreenShot20170510at9.04.40AM.png" target="_self"><img src="http://api.ning.com:80/files/xvpuRoKto2h3YPgLbR11z7zH42yGSlAF6n6LSIZaE3U7PvoZlzXl7Ls4nv8L4eNYtaSrBThj3rRYGOls71XJ8pxL3rtJ2fxU/ScreenShot20170510at9.04.40AM.png" width="590" class="align-full"/></a></span></p>
<p>Consider turning attic fans on when checking for the worst case CAZ depressurization. The fan may be changing the pressure dynamics of the home in dangerous ways.</p>
<p></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">While doing a comprehensive quality control visit, our Pure Energy final inspector noted that both the natural draft water heater and the natural draft draft boiler failed the following safety tests:</span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">▪ Both spilled fumes for longer than one minute (the spillage tests failed).</span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">▪ Both had inadequate draft pressure in the flues (the minimum draft pressure wasn't met).</span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">In addition, the negative pressure in the combustion appliance zone (CAZ) with reference to the outdoors was greater than allowed by BPI Standards; that is, the CAZ exceeded the maximum combustion appliance depressurization limit allowed. This held true both during the baseline and under the worst-case conditions set up.</span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Upon further investigation, the final inspector found that not only were the typical mechanical ventilation appliances making the CAZ negative, but the attic fan was on as well.</span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">The attic was being ventilated to the outdoors by an attic fan installed in the roof. The pressure caused by the operating fan was sucking air out of the attic, the house, and the CAZ. This was placing the CAZ under too much negative pressure. Since every CFM of air that the fan exhausted had to come from somewhere, this negative pressure was causing some of the makeup air to come down the flues. The water heater and the boiler could not vent the flue gases properly, and the fumes were being vented to the inside of the house. This is dangerous and unhealthy.</span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">The reason the fan could suck air from the CAZ was that the attic was not fully separated from the living space and from the basement, as is required by the utility efficiency program for which we are the QC Inspectors and also by BPI.</span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Not only did this defective attic pressure boundary allow heated air to leak into the attic, but it allowed moist air to leak into the attic, hot summer air to leak into the house, and polluted air to leak into the house. It also put the CAZ under negative pressure and it posed a serious risk of CO and other pollutant poisoning.</span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Insights</strong></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Here is what I learned from the inspector’s experience:</span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">▪ Attic fans can suck air down flues and cause IAQ and health problems for occupants.</span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">▪ If the air conditioner is on and the windows are closed, mechanical ventilation makeup air cannot come in from the outside through windows. Since makeup air must come from somewhere, it may come down the flues instead.</span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">▪ Attic fans can run year-round, if the thermostat is poorly set, or if the fan is on a standard switch and occupants forget to shut it off in the winter when the boiler is running.</span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Recommendations</strong></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">This is what I recommend to program administrators and technicians:</span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">▪ Consider checking the status of attic fans when doing the worst-case CAZ depressurization setup. An operating attic fan might reduce the baseline CAZ pressure.</span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">▪ Consider turning attic fans on when checking for the worst-case CAZ depressurization. This will help you to determine the true worst case.</span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">▪ Be sure to record the CAZ depressurization with and without the attic fan on.</span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">▪ Explain to customers how attic fans can affect the operation of natural-draft appliances.</span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">▪ Be sure to fully separate the attic from the living space and the CAZ with a tight pressure boundary. </span></p>
<p></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">This article originally appeared in Home Energy Magazine <a href="http://api.ning.com:80/files/L4VCpVDyjDji4as95r85W565DoYKp7K13yZtLIPsPpySVqG815XsR8mVjO*7BX8rMZHoAon3Wl*vHdHs6LlJ*SpRcubf7PbL/AtticFans.pdf" target="_self">Attic%20Fans.pdf</a></span></p>Top tips for maintaining an evaporative coolertag:homeenergypros.lbl.gov,2017-05-04:6069565:BlogPost:2171282017-05-04T10:30:00.000ZKobus Niemandhttp://homeenergypros.lbl.gov/profile/KobusNiemand
<p>Evaporative coolers, also known as swamp coolers have become a top choice for anyone looking for an alternative cooling solution from their home or office. In the past, evap cooler technology was limited for use in large operations that have easy access to exterior air such as factories.</p>
<p></p>
<p><a href="http://api.ning.com:80/files/T7zXMiDkPGSrT4NOVvwX67LVjTWAAtpFW9hNnmw5W1Mz5ROARQfDTPbQwggpfWgsOFah3SU6**Lmfn0Tecimu1xblD7Op742/evap1.jpg" target="_self"><img class="align-center" src="http://api.ning.com:80/files/T7zXMiDkPGSrT4NOVvwX67LVjTWAAtpFW9hNnmw5W1Mz5ROARQfDTPbQwggpfWgsOFah3SU6**Lmfn0Tecimu1xblD7Op742/evap1.jpg" width="500"></img></a></p>
<p>The…</p>
<p>Evaporative coolers, also known as swamp coolers have become a top choice for anyone looking for an alternative cooling solution from their home or office. In the past, evap cooler technology was limited for use in large operations that have easy access to exterior air such as factories.</p>
<p></p>
<p><a href="http://api.ning.com:80/files/T7zXMiDkPGSrT4NOVvwX67LVjTWAAtpFW9hNnmw5W1Mz5ROARQfDTPbQwggpfWgsOFah3SU6**Lmfn0Tecimu1xblD7Op742/evap1.jpg" target="_self"><img src="http://api.ning.com:80/files/T7zXMiDkPGSrT4NOVvwX67LVjTWAAtpFW9hNnmw5W1Mz5ROARQfDTPbQwggpfWgsOFah3SU6**Lmfn0Tecimu1xblD7Op742/evap1.jpg" width="500" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p>The technology has grown leaps and bounds over the last decade and now <a href="http://portablecoolers.com/evap/">portable units that have all the features of standard air-conditioning units</a>, such as; thermostats, large LCD displays and even remote control management.</p>
<p>Apart from all these added features have enabled evap coolers to become a superior choice over traditional air-conditioners, evap cooler technology has now been compacted into smaller units that suit the home and office.</p>
<p><b>How do they work?</b></p>
<p>Evaporative cooler harness the power of nature, in particular the cooling effect of evaporation. Have you ever been relaxing by a lake and felt a cool breeze come across the surface and land on shore to refresh you? This is the principle that is behind evaporative cooling. As warm air passes over or through a body of water, there is a latent heat exchange that occurs as the water is evaporated by the warm air, pushing the warmth into the water and cooling the air.</p>
<p></p>
<p><a href="http://api.ning.com:80/files/T7zXMiDkPGSooXy3mR3YyZccfxm92l*2V*yc849Tc-gDQS6hWq8DllLKUf6KJFBei2qQ0wCvqA*CYqJa7N0HVsYP4X-4bT*N/evaporativecoolinghowdoesitwork.jpg" target="_self"><img src="http://api.ning.com:80/files/T7zXMiDkPGSooXy3mR3YyZccfxm92l*2V*yc849Tc-gDQS6hWq8DllLKUf6KJFBei2qQ0wCvqA*CYqJa7N0HVsYP4X-4bT*N/evaporativecoolinghowdoesitwork.jpg" width="511" class="align-center" height="408"/></a></p>
<p>This process is harnessed by an evaporative cooler by means of a fan that is housed within the unit pulling warm ait from outside into the unit and through a set of cooling pads that are constantly wetted. The air then undergoes the latent heat exchange and the fresh, cool air is then pushed into the room where it cools the ambient temperature.</p>
<p><b>The working parts</b></p>
<p>Evaporative coolers are inexpensive to operate and they can offer a power saving of up to 70% when compared with other traditional air-conditioning systems. This is because there are very few electrical components within the evaporative cooler unit. Inside the unit, you will <a href="http://www.explainthatstuff.com/thermostats.html">find a thermostat to control the operation of the cooler</a>, as well as a water pump that pushes water over the cooling pads and an electric fan to pull in the warm air and expel the cool air.</p>
<p></p>
<p><a href="http://api.ning.com:80/files/T7zXMiDkPGTEQkQdK7HpuSzWbbTkupz9Ol*dI3AVxAMvfyKv-x7iQ9enl*i5hWgp5r7I-OCMJkvgELMaPrRAVvgobkQSUymg/evaporativecoolerworkingparts.jpg" target="_self"><img src="http://api.ning.com:80/files/T7zXMiDkPGTEQkQdK7HpuSzWbbTkupz9Ol*dI3AVxAMvfyKv-x7iQ9enl*i5hWgp5r7I-OCMJkvgELMaPrRAVvgobkQSUymg/evaporativecoolerworkingparts.jpg?width=750" width="564" class="align-center" height="288"/></a></p>
<p><b>The evap cooler difference</b></p>
<p>Being that evaporative coolers require less energy to operate, they also have a unique method of operation in order for the unit to operate at its full, efficient capacity. In traditional <a href="http://home.howstuffworks.com/ac.htm">air-con systems</a>, you are required to seal the room that needs cooling by closing all the doors and windows and then go about consistently remediating and cooling the rooms air. Evaporative coolers work by forcing new, freshly cooled air into the room, therefore they require an exhaust point in order for the old, spent air to be expelled from the room as the new air replaces it.</p>
<p>Therefore, you will need to open a window or leave a door slightly open in order for the exhaust air to escape. Should you fail to open a window and create the negative pressure that is needed fo the air to escape, the room will slowly increase in relative humidity to the point where the rooms surfaces begin to become damp and them wet. This may destroy wooden furniture and window frames as well as damage electrical equipment and other household items such as painting, books and carpets.</p>
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<p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Oj_JCTg-Ct0?wmode=opaque" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
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<p><b>Maintaining your cooler</b></p>
<p>In an ideal world, we would never have to lift a finger to do anything. Food would magically appear before us when dinnertime is near and our teeth would brush themselves in the morning. Obviously, these things will never happen there is a certain level of energy that must be spent in order to receive a reward, this is life.</p>
<p>The same principle applies to your evaporative cooler. In an ideal world, we would simply turn the unit on and it would run for the entire summer with no hassles. However, things are not this easy in life and your evaporative cooler will require some minor maintenance in order to keep it running at optimum efficiency.</p>
<p><b>2 steps to evap cooler success</b></p>
<p>While your evaporative cooler only requires a minimal amount of maintenance, it’s still important to make sure that you do the following;</p>
<p><b>The housing</b></p>
<p>Before the relentless heat of the summer arrives, it’s time to do a quick check up on your cooler. Begin by removing the weather cover and giving the external housing a quick check over for signs of cracking around the reservoir or fan grids. Make sure that the fan grid ids clean and free from debris such as dust or leaves.</p>
<p><b>Pump, pads and filter</b></p>
<p>Next, remove the housing to expose the reservoir, water pump, cooling pads and fan. Clean out the reservoir and make sure all sediment that could possibly clog up the water pump is removed, wipe down the reservoir and then turn on the unit to make sure that the reservoir fills and that the water pump is functioning correctly, pushing the water over the cooling pads. Next, turn the unit off again and remove the cooling pads and the filter. Wash them with a light soapy solution and then rinse them clean with fresh water before reinstalling them into the unit.</p>
<p><a href="http://api.ning.com:80/files/T7zXMiDkPGTLIuhFoKgIIAf3QikrOBwnFLoNe5pwm2GB4dSWnznyuzfMKc30pLEwktEFnKJiGQ0ZM95l82HU9oC9yoZBRJA6/evaporativecoolerparts.jpg" target="_self"><img src="http://api.ning.com:80/files/T7zXMiDkPGTLIuhFoKgIIAf3QikrOBwnFLoNe5pwm2GB4dSWnznyuzfMKc30pLEwktEFnKJiGQ0ZM95l82HU9oC9yoZBRJA6/evaporativecoolerparts.jpg" width="470" class="align-center" height="372"/></a></p>
<p></p>
<p><b>The fan</b></p>
<p>Check the fan impellers for signs of wear and then wipe them down to remove any dust or debris. Give the impeller a quick turn or two to make sure the bearing are working correctly and then spray them down with a silicone based lubricant.</p>
<p><b>Thermostat and electrical circuits</b></p>
<p>Next, make sure that the reservoir is filled with fresh water and switch on the unit for a test run. Use your control panel or remote control and turn on the unit. Make sure that the temperature settings are working and other electronic features such as the fan swing are functioning correctly.</p>
<p><b>The final check</b></p>
<p>For the final step, reassemble the housing and make sure that it is fitted securely, then give the unit a <a href="http://www.doityourself.com/stry/how-to-clean-an-evaporative-air-cooler">wipe down to remove any dirt,</a> duct or debris that may have collected in storage or out in the open during the winter months, you are now ready to operate your unit!</p>
<p><b>At the end of the season</b></p>
<p>At the end of the summer season, after days of effective and efficient cooling, it’s time to pack your unit away. Empty the reservoir and clean the air-inlet grille and fan impellers. Then reassemble the unit and cover it with a weather cover if it is an exterior mounted unit, or a plastic cover to prevent dust build up if it is a smaller portable unit that you can store in your garage or cupboard.</p>
<p><b>What if something goes wrong?</b></p>
<p>If you discover a fault with anything on the list, then call your manufacturer or agent and arrange a technician to come out to your property to service the unit. For external units, you may have to have a call-out, however, if you have a lighter, portable unit, then just pop it into your car and take a drive to your agent where they can give it a service for you.</p>
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<p><a href="http://api.ning.com:80/files/T7zXMiDkPGRISYI2gIjuppbfrWqiO0gnwELx1h*7yfRP4OCRzM7Y2nvM*BXGnsoIWm9WQEpZVaV-w-1PM9eRZcWIUjluEAg9/evapcoolermaintenance.jpg" target="_self"><img src="http://api.ning.com:80/files/T7zXMiDkPGRISYI2gIjuppbfrWqiO0gnwELx1h*7yfRP4OCRzM7Y2nvM*BXGnsoIWm9WQEpZVaV-w-1PM9eRZcWIUjluEAg9/evapcoolermaintenance.jpg?width=750" width="500" class="align-center" height="375"/></a></p>
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<p><b>Who supplies Evaporative Coolers?</b></p>
<p>Depending on the country you’re situated in there are some great options for evaporative coolers. Below is a list of the top 5 evaporative cooler suppliers we have found. We have tried to split these out Geographically: </p>
<p><a href="http://www.essickair.com/">www.essickair.com</a></p>
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<p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sonqCPDyooA?wmode=opaque" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
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<p><a href="http://www.evaporative-coolers.co.za/">www.evaporative-coolers.co.za</a></p>
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<p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UORbZcu0U7M?wmode=opaque" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
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<p><a href="http://www.air-n-water.com/">www.air-n-water.com</a></p>
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<p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QtUMg5a4BJg?wmode=opaque" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
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<p><a href="http://www.uline.com/">www.uline.com</a></p>
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<p><a href="http://www.ecer.com/">www.ecer.com</a></p>
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<p><b>The final thought</b></p>
<p>While machines such as evaporative coolers are built to improve our quality of life, they still need some TLC in order for them to run at their optimum efficiency and effectiveness. There is no thing as a free lunch and completing these few simple steps before turning on your unit will greatly extend its operating life, <a href="https://www.thespruce.com/swamp-cooler-maintenance-products-2718624">providing you with further maintenance</a> savings alongside the dramatic electricity savings that you can expect from an evaporative cooler.</p>
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<p></p>The Legends of Home Performancetag:homeenergypros.lbl.gov,2017-04-27:6069565:BlogPost:2170012017-04-27T14:27:14.000ZHome Energy Magazinehttp://homeenergypros.lbl.gov/profile/HomeEnergyMagazine
<p>A project long in the making, we're happy to finally reveal some of our Legends of Home Performance videos. We've been working with videographer Debra Little for almost a year now, and she's had the pleasure of sitting down and hearing the stories of several home performance industry heavy hitters. </p>
<p>"I've been shooting these at various conferences I've attended and it's been a thrill for me to hear [their] stories and be able to help make them accessible for folks to enjoy," says…</p>
<p>A project long in the making, we're happy to finally reveal some of our Legends of Home Performance videos. We've been working with videographer Debra Little for almost a year now, and she's had the pleasure of sitting down and hearing the stories of several home performance industry heavy hitters. </p>
<p>"I've been shooting these at various conferences I've attended and it's been a thrill for me to hear [their] stories and be able to help make them accessible for folks to enjoy," says Little. </p>
<p>Among the interviewees in the series are Rick Chitwood, Henry Gifford, Martin Holladay, Gary Nelson, Sam Rashkin, Nehemiah Stone, and John Straube.</p>
<p>We'll be sharing these videos with you through our blog and social media channels, but if you just can't wait, you can view them on YouTube <a href="https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=%22legends+of+home+performance%22" target="_blank">here</a>.</p>
<p>First up: Martin Holladay, Senior Editor of Green Building Advisor. </p>
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